PLOT: 3.5/5
CHARACTERS: 3.5/5
WRITING: 3/5
ENTERTAINMENT: 3/5
Domestic abuse is an issue that still plagues many in Indian society. It is an evil that afflicts an individual mercilessly and leaves deep emotional, physical, and psychological scars that often take decades, if not generations to heal. In such a case, creating awareness through dialogue becomes necessary, and one way of it is through the medium of books.
Author Bhanu Srivastav’s book Deified aptly addresses this issue and brings to us the story of an undefeated woman. I have read two such books that speak of the same issue in the last few years. These are – Etaf Rum’s A Woman is No Man and Majid Rafizadeh’s A God Who Hates Women.
What is the book all about?
The book is a contemporary women’s fiction with just a dash of sci-fi elements. It is the story of a girl next door who falls victim to domestic abuse and loses her spark only to reclaim what is rightfully hers in the end.
Who can read?
The language is rich and complex, and beginners with some level of effort can pick the book up.
Let’s delve deeper into the character of Saanvi
The story mostly revolves around our main character Saanvi. Saanvi is named after the Goddess Lakshmi and was born in the quiet idyllic town of Jhajjar in Haryana. Her parents love her and are blessed to have her in their life. As the story progresses, we see Saanvi coming into her own. She studies hard and is full of life, love, and compassion for others.
She is a beautiful young woman who is kind, gentle, and soft-spoken. Everyone who knows her loves her and deeply adores her. She has dreams and ambitions, and to make these come true, she works really hard.
When the story starts Saanvi is 27 years old, and that is the present. She has an enigmatic face that exudes confidence and a beautiful charm, and a smile that easily captivates. She has everything that one can hope for in a girl.
The story as it begins and unfolds
At the beginning of the book, the reader is transported to the bustling city of Varanasi. It is the year 2023, in May, and this is the year when Saanvi’s work has taken her into yet another unknown territory. This time it is the sprawling building of the administrative complex of the Next Gen Bank. This is the readers’ first peak into Saanvi’s professional life. As she starts with her daily hustle at the bank, she quickly endears herself to both her colleagues and her readers, for she is indeed a very kind, gentle, happy-go-lucky, intelligent, and perceptive soul. She is someone who is always there to stand for others.
In the pages that follow, we see Saanvi’s story unfolding as the narrative frequently switches between the past, present, and future. In the past, we are taken into Saanvi’s childhood, how she is with her family, and the kind of relationship that she enjoys with her brother and classmates. We are also shown a glimpse of her college life and how hard she strives to be successful in her studies.
The future offers us a peak into the years that follow after she marries Manav. Her life takes a complete U-turn, and the juxtaposition of the Saanvi of today vis-à-vis the Saanvi of the future is enough to sadden anyone. This continues until one day; a cosmic event yet again forever changes the course of her life.
Deified, thus, is the story of Saanvi’s life from her childhood to her young adult phase to her getting married, having children, and then discovering herself back.
What did I like about the book?
I love how Deified takes such a sensitive topic such as domestic abuse and weaves an emotional story around it. In this age and era, we need more such brave attempts in fiction that would highlight the social issues still plaguing our society.
I love how the book is very relatable especially when it comes to young urban professionals – the challenges they face when they move away from home to pursue their dreams, the anxieties and uncertainties that come with a new job, but also the freedom and the anticipation of living and working in a new place, how they are always waiting for the weekends and salary days. These are the many things that make this book relatable on multiple levels.
I also enjoyed the insights into the life of a banking professional. These are quite amusing and informative. Bankers get to deal with all types of stereotypes and categories of customers. The particular demands of working in a bank, the work culture, the frequent transfers, and many other things are covered well.
Another aspect of writing that appealed to the reader in me is the language which makes use of a lot of vernaculars in conversation between characters. This lends an earthy, local, and regional touch to the narrative, making it much more atmospheric.
Some other aspects deserve special mention – the addition of specific book-themed original songs which are available on all major platforms like Spotify, YouTube, etc, and the QR code of which is printed on aesthetically appealing glossy pages. Then there are some other glossy pages sprinkled throughout the book along with some amazing quotes and eye-catching illustrations.
What could have been better?
When it comes to the language, Deified uses many complex words and complicated sentences that bring the pace down and that is rarely a good thing in a contemporary fiction novel. The storytelling is also marred by excessive details that go pages and pages long without actually taking the story forward in any way.
The writing is way too descriptive and there is a lot of beating around the bush, so much so that the narration assumes a dull and insipid tone after a while. Reading a book this way becomes a cumbersome task then. I would have loved it if the book was reduced by 40% of its total length to have a quicker and effortless pace.
I also didn’t like the way most of the narration felt too mechanic and without many emotions. Though Saanvi is given her fair share of space, most of the details narrated about her fail to entertain or take the story forward. In a much unconventional way, there is too much of the backstory and not enough of the current story going forward.
The writing is amateurish at best and can use a little more finesse or the pruning eye of a sharp editor. There are a lot of mismatches in the pacing of different parts of the story. Many incidents seem disconnected and the writing appears choppy. Despite a good potential story, I found the book visibly lacking in entertainment.
There is a sci-fi element towards the end but that is also much disconnected from the rest of the story. The same is the case of Saanvi’s married life with Manav.
In the end
In the end, Deified is a contemporary women’s fiction that weaves the tale of Saanvi, a formidable and empowered young woman. Through its compelling narrative, the novel deftly addresses the often-overlooked social issue of abuse, raising awareness about the same and opening it up for dialogue in public spaces.
You can buy your copy of Deified using the link below.