Aniruddha Dey’s The Thin Line: A Book Review

Title: The Thin Line

Author: Aniruddha Dey

Genre: Thriller, Paranormal Thriller

Platform: Amazon Kindle

Language: English

 

Blurb

The Thin Line is a novella which centers around the altercation of two women belonging to different cultures and different backgrounds. Geeta is a highly successful woman but in her continuous pursuit of ambition, she has somewhere lost one of her dearest possession -her husband Gaurav. Then enters Sonali-who challenges every notion and every idea that Geeta ever felt proud of.
It is a clash of thoughts and a thriller with an unexpected twist at the end. The story reveals how perception can be deceptive. Two women whose egos are at war actually reveals a horde of emotions, numerous layers of our psyche and our society at large

Review

Great things do come in a small package and The Thin Line is definitely one of them. Aniruddha Dey weaves a glamorous world of careers & cocktails with the city of Mumbai in the backdrop. It tells the story of royal Geeta, loyal Gaurav ( is Gaurav really a loyal one? ) and yes mysterious Sonali, the voluptuous babe. The plot follows the life of an urban couple in the busy conurbation, Mumbai. With great fame, great success in career come a great price. It questions your pursuit for the material wealth and whether all the success is worth your happiness? Find out…

For the entire story, buy the book.

Let me tell you about the craft of the author. Dey is extremely calculative in his word count, he makes sure that every line is important and each word is countable. Thus, the author hooks you up to the plot, he builds up the tension and then he hits you hard with a strong peg of single malt. The climax will make you say. “ Oh Fuck !” ( This fuck stands for admiration).

Geeta emerges as the strongest character in the book, I hope the author would develop a story on Geeta’s life. Gaurav is a strong one but yet he remains somewhat in the background. Sonali, well she is sexy and yes she is something else.

Aniruddha Dey has written a smart thriller, a good weekend read and this should be definitely on your list if you are fond of twists, especially an out of the world twist.

Grab a copy from Amazon.

Pros

A simple narrative style.

A plot with a gripping climax.

Good character development.

A captivating cover picture.

Cons

A bit more of Gaurav’s psyche.

Verdict: 4/5

Buying Link: Amazon

 

About the Author

The author of this book is a strange phenomenon actually. He has been a prolific painter and a brilliant student who lived by choice and not by chance. A scientist by profession and an ex-IITian his passion lies in telling stories and solving other people’s problems. His interests encompass fields of Art, Politics, Science and Technology, Psychology (including Para-psychology), Sociology, Political Analysis, Film making, Religion and Philosophy, Law and the list goes on. He lives like an explorer on this Earth exploring the various facets of life in his own unique way juggling between various aspects at his own will.

 

 

Other Books by Aniruddha Dey

The Coarse Memory: An unconventional love story

The Invitation: (translated from Bengali by Aniruddha Dey)

The Untamed

The Confluence

The Epitaph #Napowrimo30 #Prompt30 #hatred Alternate Title – Spit on You

The Epitaph

#Napowrimo30 #Prompt30 #hatred

Alternate Title – Spit on You

It is so easy to loathe this guy

It is so easy to disdain his outlook

It is so easy to scorn his attitude

It is so fucking easy to hate him.

That fucking moron of the morons

That male chauvinist bastard of the bastards

That good for nothing self-declared scribbler

That hopeless self-affirmed poet.

It is so fucking easy to hate him

Do not be fooled by his sweet words

Words, he said, “Words are all I have to take your heart away.”

Away from everyone, he made me a loner

He limited my social circle, he made a loner

Love, oh that was a game for him

Emotions, oh that was a sport for him

Him, he was the slave to carnal desire

Desire, I was the slave to his urges

Urges, it was strange and painful

Painful and psychotic, he was inside the mind

Mind, it was his slave and my body

Body was his playground, he played, he used to leave marks…..

Marks were all across the temple

Temple used to be vanquished every night

Night, I used to loathe the night, I used to fear the night

Night was his hunting time

Time, he mastered the time

Time to time, he used to satisfy his urges

Urges, the satisfaction of those urges used to give him some high

High, whenever he used to be in that zone, he used to write

Write, writing and writing about gore, violence in the garb of darkness

Darkness, he was the poet of darkness.

Do not be fooled by the face

It was very disturbing, he was a fucking disgrace.

Lie there, beneath the surface, deep inside the ground

Enjoy your darkness, without the light and sound

He deserves nothing good, nothing well

Bloody asshole, you must rot in hell.

Waiting for Will, #Napowrimo29 #Prompt29 #Absence

Death is the new beginning

Beginning is always tough

Tougher it is to move ahead and flow

Flowing is not an option, it is the only option

Option which depends upon only one thing, it is you

You are the master of your accord

Your own will, your destiny,

Destiny depends upon your will

Will, my friend, where is the Goddamn will ?

Will to strive

Will to derive

Will to survive

Survive, that part of speech is nowhere now

Now, the struggle of existence is going away

Away or near, it is over, there and here

Here, we have only fear

Fear is such a constant thing

Thing is that fear is associated with the microbe

Microbe is affecting the body

Body might recover and what about the mind?

Mind is getting drowned

Drowned in the abyss of worklessness

Worklessness is creeping inside the system

System is collapsing, collapsing due to the cringe

Cringe in the economy, economy which based on people

People are known for their work

Work is nowhere; there is no way for work to work

Work cannot function without Will

Will, lost in oblivion.

Goodbye Jester #NapoWrimo28 #Prompt28

Who are we?

We being, me and you

You are a bigger part of the cosmos

Cosmos is everything

Everything is You.

You are infinity

Infinity is your power

Power is your identity

Identity is essential

Essential it is, to make a mark.

Mark is your footprints

Footprints are your legacy

Legacy is all we have

Have you ever thought?

Thought about the strength of Legacy?

Legacy is an answer

Answer to the people

People who are going to inhabit this beautiful earth

Earth is rare, we have only one

One is beautiful but scary

Scary if it is over-ridden by pestilence.

Pestilence of neo-colonialism

Neo-colonialism which is a successor of colonialism

Colonialism which is rooted in imperialism

Imperialism which is a cousin of Capitalism

Capitalism gave us superpowers

Superpowers, which exploits the poor, weak

Weak we are, weaker we are every day.

Every day, they are draining the cheap labours

Labours are living hell

Hell is not beneath

Beneath is a farfetched concept

Concept exists over here, amidst us, over here

Here is the living hell

Hell created by the first world

World has become their slaves

Slaves are dying, we are dying

Dying is real, the reality is death

Death is the truth.

Truth is the only thing that is real

Reality is very very harsh,

Harsh it is, the reality is brutal

Brutal is life, life is but a tragedy

Tragedy is reality

Reality is violent, gory, harsh and bitter

Bitter is life

Life is not an act of jest

Jest is dead

Dead is the Jester.

 

Mad Hatter, Let’s Go, Poem – 4, The Mad Hatter Series #NapoWrimo27, Prompt – 27 Prompt – Travel

Mad Hatter, Let’s Go, Poem – 4, The Mad Hatter Series

#NapoWrimo27, Prompt – 27 , Prompt – Travel

Moonshine was really really good

Fucking awesome, intoxicating nasha                   (nasha – Intoxication)

I won’t apologize for my third world bhasha      (bhasha – Language)

But, I made a mistake, passed out without having food.

Ah, this rover and this throbbing pain

And this John drives like crazy

Then, there is Babe, full-on insane

Wake up Babe, stop being so lazy.

Virginia is a beautiful place

With blue ridge mountain over there

Shenandoah is plentiful on subsurface

Life is old, very old over here.

John asked us to stay, offered us his house

Babe received an embroidered blouse

He gave me a warm tight hug

Babe was blabbering about some absurd bug.

We denied the entrapment within four walls

She was bitten by a bug, I was by wanderlust

To move ahead, to see the great rivers and falls

The Nimbus was fixed and we started really really fast.

I must tell you, yes, I will tell you
I hardly praise anyone but only a few

Babe was humming a nice tune, an absurdist journey song

By Gulzar the Punjabi and Kishore the bong.

Cold unruly wind along with us

The Pacific Ocean beneath us

Babe and Brat are on the go

Musafir hoon Yaaro, ready steady and po.

N.B – We spotted few birds like seagulls, albatross and myna

Oh, fuck is that the Great Wall? Fuck, that is red Chinaaaa.

 

The Mad Hatter Diaries, Poem 3 of the Mad Hatter Series, #NapoWrimo26 , Prompt 26

The Mad Hatter Diaries,

Poem 3 of the Mad Hatter Series, #NapoWrimo26 , Prompt 26

“Places you can find love

Its sits around lurking in places”

Oh, Brat that is a wonderful line

Did you scribble it?

No, I think it is a line a by Keats

Babe, you mean one of the young romantics?

Yep, he was stylish, sensual and highly quoted in semantics.

Brat, you need to loosen up

You need to get rid of the junk

Nimbus is having issues in putting up

Or else, this mission impossible might flunk.

Oh, you fatty the fat

With old fashioned jumbo hat

You want me to get rid of the bag

So that you can continue with your aimless wig wag

Oh dear asshole Brat

Check your words, you loudmouth

You are bloody uncivilized, bloody uncouth

Remember, I am the one who saved you from that stinky habitat.

Just sit straight; I am looking somewhere to land

Oh, there is a muggle in trouble,in the blue mountain land

Ah, there is a beautiful blue car, with a nice looking girl

Buckle up Brat, we are crash landing near the blue pearl.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM

Ah, that throbbing pain

Oh, that out of the world landing

Where is the Witch? Pagli, I mean insane

Ah, thank God, that golden hair girl with a bob cut is still standing.

The car was a limited edition

Babe, said “Do you want an image ?

I was like, “Oh yes, you know my intuition”

Popped up a DSLR, the shot was savage.

The witch fixed the car

The girl with the round spec was flabbergasted

She had a bob cut, “I will take you two to a bar.”

I was happy, my lungs, liver and heart were inflated.

I bowed my head and said, “ Thank you Madam.”

I am the Brat and this is my rescuer the Babe

Wait, the girl said, I think you are mistaken, so is your Babe

I am John from Denver, I cannot be your Madam.

Humse mat pucho kaise, Mandir tuta Sapno ka

I was like, behenchod Daru Lao

I want to jump from my Jharokha

Babe be like, “ Brat Shant Ho Jao.

John offered me a strange drink

I was heartbroken, I was on the brink

The brink of heartbreak, the edge of devastation.

John said that moonshine is misty, quite a sensation.

I drank, I drank like a real real brat

I heard that John was speaking about some verse, some line.

Babe was having some serious creative chitchat

Babe said, “Name it Country Roads, it will be amazingly fine.”

N.B -And unlike the Chainsmokers, I couldn’t find love at the backseat of a blue rover, but I found myself.

Feel it ?

 

The Mad Hatter Reloaded #Napowrimo25 Prompt- Window

 

I have lost the count of days and nights

I have lost the battle; I am tired with endless fights

I haven’t seen the witch; I haven’t seen the moon & sun

I have been condemned, for refusing to pen something fun.

 

I receive food from the dirty goblins

At times, they tickle me with long nasty nails

This is Dante’s Hell, jail of the jails

I am a sport for the trolls and hobgoblins.

 

I am still looking for a hope

I hope someone will offer me a rope

To climb the high wall, to reach the casement

An Angel will save me from the hellish basement.

 

Nothing happens, noone comes, nobody passes by

I could feel the chill; I guess the Winter is here

I wrote a letter, gave it to the Goblin, waiting for a reply

Close that hopeless window, snow flakes are here

 

 

And, then  Baggity Baggity Boom Boom

Through the window, the Witch arrives upon her nimbus Broom

Sorry! Dear, I was tricked into an offshore assignment

Get up, pack your bag, we are getting out of the basement.

 

The Mad Hatter, #NapoWrimo24, Promp24, Humour

 

Epilogue

(Encounter with the Witch)

Oho you think it is easy to pen a poem with humour

Oho you think it is easy at this dark hour?

Oho you think it is easy to subdue power?

The power to invoke pain and pathos

And compose poems with lousy bathos.

 

Yes, that is the exact emotion

Yes, that is the exact notion

Yes, that is the  throbbing sting

Oh , funny song, I really cannot sing.

 

And, then the muse arrived,

Near that goblin’s colony

By the side of Gringots

She arrived with a jhola and colourful pots.

 

She was wearing a big black gown

With a floral design and patches of brown

She was approaching like a Hippo

Eyebrows like electric wires with a frown

She unlocked the broom from Jhola’s Zippo.

 

She swooshed it towards me,

I was on my way, I was about to flee..

Sannata appeared and I lost my hosh.

 

I saw her, the big bad witch

She asked me to get up , “ Uthe bosh”

She offered me some pukish food known as Paneer Mutter

As if it was from the roadside Haryana Dhaba, gutter

Hey! Witch, I am a bong, get this thing out of my sight

You know magic, give me a fish, I want a bite

Oho, you want me to convert into a vegetarian

Oh, this baniya effect, all because of dhoklaterian…

Fish is my birthright, I need it right now.

 

She swooshed the broom

Darkness entered upon the room

And, I saw her in her full glory

The witch was beautiful, not at all dark and gory

She was wearing a big big hat

Unlike pop-culture, she was not thin, but cute and fat

Her face reminded me of my babe

Will tell you about her, once I am out of this cave.

 

Witch was having a red red pan,

That was betel leaf., understand the pun.

She said, “ I heard that you scribble about pain

I heard that you scribble about blood and gore

Dude, you are nothing but a big big bore

With the wand in hand …

I condemn you to write about the positive vibes

I condemn you to write about the brighter vibes

I condemn you to write about laughter and humour

I condemn you to write about all things bright

From now on, no more darkness, it should be happy and full of fun.

………………………………….The End……………………..(now the poem)

And it was the end of my dark era, here is my first poem about the Witch in Black with a colourful Hat, named it Mad Hatter.

 

Mad Hatter

The real Mad Hatter..

The real sarcasm Shutter..

One who provides puns with Butter

Offers the brat, a dish of Paneer Mutter

She excavates humour from life’s gutter

More power to the savage Mad Hatter.

May you grow healthy, fat and fatter

You are a true blue entertainer.

The Final Note, #NapoWrimo23, Prompt 23, Mirror

Beauty, glamour and limitless hope,

The ceiling, stool and slender rope

Everything is draining down

You are staring with a frown.

 

Beauty, glamour and limitless hope,

Taking them to peak through the slope

Who gave you the power, the right?

To decide the colour, black & white…

 

You are staring like the big brother,

Disturbing my night’s sleep

Upsetting my mind’s peace

Because you care about beauty, glamour and hope.

 

I see a man with bruises and blemishes,

I see a man with a patchy beard

I see a bard, hopeless and weird

Because you care about beauty, glamour and hope.

 

I see a man with a broken soul

Foul is fair, the fair is foul

I see a man looking for a muse

I see a man who wants to be a recluse.

 

I see a  dark face on the surface

I see a criminal, unable to confess

Yes, I have tightened the rope

But, all you care about beauty, glamour and hope

 

Don’t act like, you know everything,

Don’t act like, you have seen everything

Don’t act like; you are the master of everything

Don’t act like, you are everything.

 

My insecurities will scare you

My pointed beard will poke you

My ugly face will question you

And my eyes will haunt you…

 

 

 

Nippon Times, NapoWrimo22, Prompt 22

 

 

Once upon a time, almost at the beginning of time,
I was working, I was surviving, I was breathing
I was falling in love with words, with the rhyme
Once upon a time, almost at the beginning time.

It was almost in the middle of time,
The sun was early over here
However, it was very late over there
The people were burdened
The people were aliened
It was almost in the middle of time.

However, we came to the end of time,
The sky upon Nippon brightened
The earth was somewhat flattened
It was a bright bright night
It was the end of the big fight
And we came to the end of time.

I was on my way to work,
I was on my way to slog,
Fat Boy was over the head.
And I saw bodies lying near me.
I saw limbs upon the air,
It was here, there and everywhere,
I saw my boots leaving me,
I saw my shin bone leaving me
I saw my bulky torso leaving me
I saw my purged soul, leaving me….