Misery in Goa BY ZARIN AMROLIA Monday, February 27, 2006 12:16:51 IST Set in Goa, the book conveys to the reader a feeling of isolation and loneliness, which is experienced by many in today's world
The Girl Sonia Faleiro Penguin Viking Rs. 250 A girl commits suicide in a gloomy village of Goa and the story begins... Sinking into flashback, the book has two characters - two men who have been closest to the protagonist 'Girl'. Throughout the book these two characters contemplate each event of the 'Girl's' life, to figure out what led to her suicide. Flipping through the book the feelings of gloom, depression, loneliness, and abandonment stare in your face from every page. The graph of the Girl's' life, the actions of the characters, as well as the descriptions of the village in which the story is set cry out the feeling of being forsaken by the rest of the world. Though the setting is in Goa, it is a gloomy, isolated Goa completely contrasting the sunny sands, drinks and dance that are synonymous to this city. "I did not make a conscious effort to make the book gloomy. I started this book when I was writing my thesis while studying MSC in the University of Edinburgh. I haven't structured the book and neither are my characters inspired by anybody. I just started writing and this is the result. I am a Goan and the memories and feelings of loneliness were stronger because of the distance and my longing for my hometown when I was studying. I guess that is what came out in the book. The setting of this book is not just from one village but a composite of the various villages in Goa that I have visited," explained author Sonia Faleiro, about her debut novel. As the story goes, the protagonist of this book falls in love with a backpacker who moves in with her for a while, but one fine day he is gone without as much as a goodbye. The 'Girl' pines away with the feeling of abandonment, and her situation is worsened when she discovers her pregnancy. After her death the lost lover returns, consumed with guilt, to live in her house. "This story is about one direction that people take to cope with the situations that life gifts them. The Girl enters into a life whose consequences she cannot cope with. So she decides to get out of her suffering once and for all," said the author, who is currently working as a journalist in Mumbai. Written well and the book does make an easy reading but it leaves the reader with a sad feeling in his throat. Quite descriptive, the characters can be related with. "I will be writing a fiction and a non-fiction next," concluded the author. http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsect ion=inbombay&xfile=February2006_inbombay_standard9072 ~(^^)~ Avelino
