Split By Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

Book Review

Split

By Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

Love takes a toll on life. It may change a person for good or bad, equally. Those parents who have had love affairs which have been quite rosy-cosy and successful will have children who would believe in love, as is the probability. On the other hand, those couples who have experienced a separation may have children not fond of relations, intending to get into any or utterly hateful of being in relations. Not every love story ends with a black line, many romance clouds have silver lining too. But Noor, just hates the idea of romancing and being in love. She feels that love only leads to trouble.

Noor Khan Rai, a sixteen year old teen born to a Hindu Father and Muslim mother, is having the worst year of her life. Her parents are getting divorced. And, her paternal grandmother, who has an unpleasant presence moves in. Her granny moves in to look after Noor. Her mother was a muslim, and her granny never wanted his son (Noor’s father) to marry a muslim lady. Noor knew that her granny would be mean about her mother, but somehow, even if she didn’t like the fact (and is angry about) that her mom parting her ways, she cared about her and didn’t want to listen to anything negative. As much as she would be trying to accommodate the truth or accommodate herself in the truth, that much she would be failing as everything would remind her the same including the some session of children of the divorced parents, after school hours. She feels sliced and separated (feels different from the regular crowd of children). And, she tells all that being in love means being stupid.

Things change a bit for her, when she meets Ishaan at the first TOD meet (Teens of Divorce), who’s equally like her in various ways. On top of that, he’s funny and nerdy. But she clarifies that he’s not her type. Noor is single. Ishaan wears glasses and reads a lot. He doesn’t play football like other guys. But he participates in school-for-the children-of- divorced. Will you get to see the surge of romance in the air?

The story of “Split” will give most of the readers a recap of their school and college days, crush, and sweet fantasies that existed when they were kids and teens. It will also remind many of the scenarios of children’s suffering due to the split in relationships between their parents. how a split of separation impacts the life of children, can be seen here. Ishaan is also suffering from some sort of depression due to the divorce of his parents. However, he builds a rapport with Noor. He drops her home, and even takes her number to stay in touch.

Her story touches different points of teenage issues like the friend circle, hanging out with them, getting to relationships, fights and all. Noor makes anew boyfriend. She has her own ideologies and struggles with herself (her ideologies, notions, etc.), her father and her sense of being sandwiched. Her get into fights. The author hasn’t ;eft any stone unturned in addressing this plot.

Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan decided to become an author at sixteen, and fixed her mind on that even after turning 33 and facing bleak financial reality. Her first book deal came out of her popular blog Compulsive Confessions (www.compulsiveconfessions.com). She has been running this blog as a passion project for the last eleven years.

Publisher: Penguin Books India

Availabale on: Amazon India

Price:Rs235 (Paperback)