Review of Salt and Pepper

[Krupali]

[i][Following is a volunteer review of "Salt and Pepper" by Maria Akhanji.][/i]

[rwc=id422337-125]4 out of 4 stars.[/rwc][i]Salt and Pepper[/i] by Maria Akhanji is a spine thriller. The title has a beautiful meaning to it, the spices as the title are described as extra or side ingredients of a dish but the food cannot be tasteful without them. The girl who describes the story, Ranya, is considered to be the add-on ingredient of the family, who is considered as a part of it but not someone with whom important things have to be discussed.



Ranya is presented as a girl full of dreams, belonging to a non-practicing Muslim family. The family is a portrait hanging beautifully on a wall stuck inside a beautiful frame, but, no one notices the cracks which have been glued together. The family picture consists of a singer mom, a doctor dad, two girls, and a loving brother. Ranya and her sister Megha have always been tortured by their mother for every little thing and they speak none of it to anyone. The mother under no circumstances would undertake any chores or cook, and instead, put Megha in charge of everything. Ranya considered Megha her sister as well as a mother-like figure to herself. When Ranya’s dad stops funding her brother studying in London, he marries off to a girl with British citizenship, and soon the abused Megha runs away as well to settle. With constant fighting and abusing going into her house, Ranya decides to move to London to stay with her brother where she gets into more problems.



The book describes life from childhood to becoming an adult, yet, it remains fast-paced and the description is exceptionally well written. There are three different narrators. Ranya’s point of view fills most of the book while there are a few chapters written from the view of Megha (the sister) and also a few from Kolsum, sister-in-law of Ranya. The point of view of different characters plays an important role in the book as each lady of the family describes what problems they face and how the problems are not-so-greatly-handled.



Maria Akhanji has described the pain which seeps right through the heart of the reader. It opens the eyes of the reader. The author mentions the hitches of women living in a world where the rules are established by men. While we shout and rally for equality, there are hidden worlds where the orthodox thinking of mind still prevails and when the women try to protest, the result does not come out good. There are wishes buried deep inside.



[i]Salt and Pepper[/i] contains many incidents of child abuse and torture on women both physically and mentally. It might not be a perfect read for you if you are sensitive to the above-mentioned topics. Even though the book contains rituals and scenarios related to the Muslim religion, it gives justice to all religions and can be read by anyone. I believe anyone in high school or the age above can understand the essence of the book. The book was heartbreaking and almost made me cry but I was unable to put it down till the end.



I give the book [b]4 out of 4 stars[/b] for bringing out the topic which has been buried down for a long time.

******
[i]Salt and Pepper [/i]
View: [url=http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=422337]on Bookshelves[/url] | [amazon=B07G2CNLXN]on Amazon[/amazon]