PLOT: 3/5
WRITING STYLE: 2.5/5
CLIMAX: 2.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5
Lonely Hearts is the story on one of the prevailing situations in India – the practice of alienating people in their old age. It may be due to a daughter moving to her marital home after marriage or a son traveling abroad for studies and job.
In Lonely Hearts, the author, Prakkash Satputhe, provides both these contexts to explain the recurring occurrence of isolation of the old and the ailing. It is not about pointing fingers or playing the blame game but about understanding the matter at hand and finding a solid solution for it.
The narrator of the story, as a Heartfulness Meditation practitioner, meets a seventy-three-year-old woman called Gayatri Sathe who drifts like a ghost in the rooms of her once filled and loved residence, left to be in the mercy of an arrogant housemaid.
Through their continued interaction he comes to know about her dreary and mournful life situation. It is upsetting to know how a person has to fight throughout her life only to be left alone in the battlefield to continue her struggle against all of life’s hurdles.
The author describes the story of this lost warrior and the reason behind her derelict condition of life.
The narrator’s growing closeness to this brave-hearted lady leads to the formation of a project that acts as a solution for many people who suffer the same fate as Gayatri Sathe.
Lonely Hearts provides a simplistic narration of modern life and its consequences on familial relationships. Indian traditions, customs and belief system are also reflected in the story of Gayatri Sathe. I also liked the “Circle of Life” realisation added by the author in his narrative.
It is a noble deed to portray this subject matter as I think this important issue requires better acknowledgement and awareness.
Through Gayatri Sathe, the author mirrored the insecurity, weakness, neglect, ignorance and loneliness an aged individual faces as a consequence of the absence of moral, financial and emotional support.
The cover art and the title are the representation of the topic discussed in Lonely Hearts. The change in timeline is not difficult to follow and this work of non-fiction is presented in a manner that will keep the readers interested in the book.
The only thing I would have wanted was the use of a better vocabulary and writing style which would have improved the reading experience to a large extent.
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