Review of Piyush Jha's "Raakshas".
***Might contain Spoilers***
From the very first page, very
first paragraph, very first line, this was creepy in the most haunting way. The
introductory chapters are very disturbing, but as the story spans, I got more clarity
as to what was happening and how it backs the transformation of a child to a
murderer. From empathizing with the kid, to hating him the next moment and wanting him to die, the book takes you through the intricacies of the killer's
thoughts as he goes through the different stages of life. There was one moment
when I didn't really want the killer to be caught this soon because that would
have been belittling the mastermind. Piyush takes us through the lives of the villain
(Raakshas) and the hero (Maithili). Maithili leaves no stone unturned to
unearth the next step of the killer, but as he says, he is always two steps
ahead. The sole purpose of her existence seems to be catching the culprit. She,
on the other hand is none the better than the one she is after. Turns out that
she too has ghosts of the past that come to haunt her and make her go an extra
mile in her efforts.
Grown up on a diet of murders in
an almost amicable way as those solved by Sherlock or Poirot, this was
something I wasn’t quite eager to read. But, having feasted upon this piece, I
think I can rightly say that my hunger (no, not the hunger for murder!!) has altered
from reading about murders to reading about murderers.
The bonus section at the end about real-life serial killers was an eye-opener to the current state
of crime and its understanding in India. Its sad to say that the position is heart-rending.
My take: Take my word for it and
go for it, even if you are not a fan of gore. If you don’t like it, don’t
blame the author (he is gooood!), blame you weak digestion!
PS: I warn you not to keep the book on your bedside table;
it might give you twisted nightmares. Not that I dreamed of someone cutting my
mundi off!!
PPS: Raakshas has made reach for a copy of ‘Compass box
killer’ and it might seem strange, but I am looking forward to it.
Special Thanks to:
Writersmelon and Westland
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