When looked for in the dictionary, the word 'prodigal' means 'Wastefully extravagant and lavish'. Viewing it from the viewpoint of the Biblical parable The Prodigal Son, a son receives his inheritance and travels abroad, squanders away all his wealth and then returns to his father, only to be accepted with open arms.
This title by Manu Dhawan puts up the idea of an opposite scenario--of unprodigality. The protagonist of the story (the unprodigal son) is definitely Aryan, a child prodigy in terms of academics, and who's the son of one of the richest business tycoons of the country, Yash Rout. Yash had built his empire out of immense conviction and ambitiousness, and he will go to any extent just to protect himself and make sky-high profits. He has turbulent family relations--an enmity with his brother Karthik (also into business), a separation from his wife Mandira, a strained relation with his father Aryaman and distance from his children, Aryan and Zara.
Aryaman, Aryan's grandfather had always shared a special bond with him, and their ideals and hopes clicked with one another. In an atmosphere devoid of any simplistic affection back at his father's mansion, Aryan used to find solace by confiding with Aryaman. Upon returning to India after finishing his studies abroad, Aryan comes face to face with a harsh truth--his dear grandfather Aryaman had passed away in his passenger seat while returning from a conference. Aryan keeps reminding himself of his father's friction against Aryaman and his mind harps upon a phone conversation he had eavesdropped into--in which his father Yash was suspiciously talking heatedly of his grandfather. Aryan is convinced that his grandfather's demise is very planned and carefully put to the scheme, and he goes to desperate extents to prove that his father has a role to play in the conspiracy. But this fight against one of the wealthiest men of the country never goes well, and young Aryan keeps on facing various predicaments, some even life-threatening. He then stumbles upon a letter addressed to him, which promises to shed light in the dark abyss Aryan was slowly getting sucked into.
Just by flipping through the initial pages of the book, any reader can have a notion that it's going to be immensely interesting. I must say, the book certainly keeps its word. In no way is the story very bland or linear--rather, it is multi-threaded with themes like greed, corruption, hatred and justice. Realism and honesty screams out of the lines, and we also find certain untold dilemmas and conflicts when peeped deep enough. The author tries to incorporate elements like the unnerving descriptions of fight scenes, display of naked flawed emotions and brisk flashbacks and reveries that succeeds in escalating the plotline quite commendably. The story is, after all, not a concrete mystery or a detective novel, nor is it a thriller. It is a book that talks of the crumbling remains of conscience that erodes compassion and triggers unwanted dark emotions. It portrays the life of the ones who surround towering successful people, and how they are bound to remain deprived of certain desires, just because they are blinded with the glaze of possession and materialistic benefits.
The characters in the book have been crafted with much insight, and they never come about to be distasteful, although deceit and immorality lurks visibly in some of them. The diverse web of relationships have been put up very genuinely, and similarly, the pace of the story is balanced with the right amounts of halts and accelerations. Regarding the character build-up, the author doesn't indulge in properly describing the mindset or the nuances of the characters. The introduction of a character is mostly always via a superficial bodily description, with no proper highlight of their unique personality traits. The characters become more lively when they appear in situations, and the reader's perception heightens their establishment.
The author keeps intact his consistency of writing, and the reading experience is flowy which crowns the book to be a 'page-turner'. The climax, however, was a little offbeat to my taste, and it did not tie the whole story as enthrallingly as it had promised. It was in no way predictable, but it did not seem to be utterly admirable either. Heartiest recommendation of 'The Unprodigal' from my side!
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Disclaimer: This review is in lieu of a review copy.
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