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rohit09's review
3.0
The story is about Aisha, who is in a dysfunctional marriage and suffers from mental illness. Only her kids, Maya and Aryan, are the reason she is still trying to keep herself functional. Her husband, Prithvi, is quite wary of her and there is hardly any communication between them. One day Aisha's half-sister, Heer, comes to meet her for the first time and two days later Aisha goes missing!
The story was a bit slow in the beginning but the narration was so strong that it kept me hooked. The second half picked up and was intense. The characters were fleshed out fantastically, especially the children, Maya and Aryan. The dark and grim atmosphere added to the caliginous mood of the story. The author was on point the way she described BiPolar Disorder and Anxiety Disorder and the way they affect the person and their relationships.
However, I found a few things lacking which ended up making the story less impactful. I wish Aisha's and Prithvi's POV were narrated alternatively rather than in the form of Book 1 and Book 2. Also I found some inconsistencies which would act as spoilers so I'm refraining from mentioning them. There are some books where ambiguous endings might work but this one wasn't one of them and the climax didn't give any closure to the story. Also, I wish there were less of the description in the last 50 or so pages. They acted as hindrance rather than adding something to the story.
There are some parts which are very well written and had me completely hooked but the ineffective execution made the book fall short of the hard hitting read it could have been!
The story was a bit slow in the beginning but the narration was so strong that it kept me hooked. The second half picked up and was intense. The characters were fleshed out fantastically, especially the children, Maya and Aryan. The dark and grim atmosphere added to the caliginous mood of the story. The author was on point the way she described BiPolar Disorder and Anxiety Disorder and the way they affect the person and their relationships.
However, I found a few things lacking which ended up making the story less impactful. I wish Aisha's and Prithvi's POV were narrated alternatively rather than in the form of Book 1 and Book 2. Also I found some inconsistencies which would act as spoilers so I'm refraining from mentioning them. There are some books where ambiguous endings might work but this one wasn't one of them and the climax didn't give any closure to the story. Also, I wish there were less of the description in the last 50 or so pages. They acted as hindrance rather than adding something to the story.
There are some parts which are very well written and had me completely hooked but the ineffective execution made the book fall short of the hard hitting read it could have been!
anukritimalik_'s review
4.0
Aisha is caught between a dysfunctional marriage with Prithvi. They live on the outskirts of a town up in the hills in North India that keeps them socially unavailable. Aisha , who is fighting demons of her own has to rely on pills to keep her "sane" and functioning.
The only thing keeping her and Prithvi together despite a broken marriage are their children.
On a chaotic day with the weather gone all rough and the roads blocked , someone knocks not only at Aisha's door but also her married life. The person on the other side of the door is Heer , a young woman who looks exactly the younger version of Aisha and also happens to be her half-sister.
Despite the unfavorable weather , Aisha steps out of the house only to never return. Heer not only takes charge but also steps into the shoes of her sister's life , with the kids as well as Prithvi. A suicide note found in Aisha's wallet suggest she has attempted suicide but a strange discomfort leaves room for suspicions.
The setting of the book is brilliantly thought of. An abode in the outskirts of a town in the hills , the rough weather and the suspense created behind Aisha's suicide fits well with each other. The story gives you a realistic outlook on how mental illness screws up a person , eating on the inside and then affecting their relationship and close ones. The author also focuses on how the sexual life of a couple is disrupted after the birth of her child since it leaves an impact on the woman's physical appearance and how the man can't seem to come in terms with that. She knock downs the saying of "love the internal beauty" and how the physical outlook of a woman overpowers that. Manral speaks the mind of those hundred woman out their who battle anxiety , depression and what not , yet they wake up each day and fight their battle.
The author knows her way of making the characters feel realistic. The characters are woven with perfection and flaws alike. Aisha, who battles her demons keeps functioning for her children. She is the spying wife , thanks to her husband's lack of love towards her. Prithvi , the arrogant and disinterested husband (or so it seems) is never in the frame. He retires home at night after work and dozes off without much communication. The character progresses in the later stage when he sets on a journey to find the mystery about Heer and her disappearance. (Note- Aisha goes missing and yet this dotting husband that didn't give a damn but he filed a missing complaint when Heer went missing). Heer , the oh-so-charming young woman that catches Prithvi's lustful eyes and body that have been deprived of physical love.
The words just seem to flow in a speed that not only grips you to the story but doesn't let you to keep the book down. Manral's writing is one of a kind. Despite the dark nature of the book , she keeps the pace going and there isn't a dull moment in the entire book. Never have I ever read any book that explores the repercussions of mental health on a marriage with such an intensity.
Final Verdict
A dystopian setting , a disrupted married life and the demons inside the head , nobody could have pulled this off soo effortlessly than Manral. Spare an entire day out for this one , you'd want to complete this in just one sitting.
The only thing keeping her and Prithvi together despite a broken marriage are their children.
On a chaotic day with the weather gone all rough and the roads blocked , someone knocks not only at Aisha's door but also her married life. The person on the other side of the door is Heer , a young woman who looks exactly the younger version of Aisha and also happens to be her half-sister.
Despite the unfavorable weather , Aisha steps out of the house only to never return. Heer not only takes charge but also steps into the shoes of her sister's life , with the kids as well as Prithvi. A suicide note found in Aisha's wallet suggest she has attempted suicide but a strange discomfort leaves room for suspicions.
The setting of the book is brilliantly thought of. An abode in the outskirts of a town in the hills , the rough weather and the suspense created behind Aisha's suicide fits well with each other. The story gives you a realistic outlook on how mental illness screws up a person , eating on the inside and then affecting their relationship and close ones. The author also focuses on how the sexual life of a couple is disrupted after the birth of her child since it leaves an impact on the woman's physical appearance and how the man can't seem to come in terms with that. She knock downs the saying of "love the internal beauty" and how the physical outlook of a woman overpowers that. Manral speaks the mind of those hundred woman out their who battle anxiety , depression and what not , yet they wake up each day and fight their battle.
The author knows her way of making the characters feel realistic. The characters are woven with perfection and flaws alike. Aisha, who battles her demons keeps functioning for her children. She is the spying wife , thanks to her husband's lack of love towards her. Prithvi , the arrogant and disinterested husband (or so it seems) is never in the frame. He retires home at night after work and dozes off without much communication. The character progresses in the later stage when he sets on a journey to find the mystery about Heer and her disappearance. (Note- Aisha goes missing and yet this dotting husband that didn't give a damn but he filed a missing complaint when Heer went missing). Heer , the oh-so-charming young woman that catches Prithvi's lustful eyes and body that have been deprived of physical love.
The words just seem to flow in a speed that not only grips you to the story but doesn't let you to keep the book down. Manral's writing is one of a kind. Despite the dark nature of the book , she keeps the pace going and there isn't a dull moment in the entire book. Never have I ever read any book that explores the repercussions of mental health on a marriage with such an intensity.
Final Verdict
A dystopian setting , a disrupted married life and the demons inside the head , nobody could have pulled this off soo effortlessly than Manral. Spare an entire day out for this one , you'd want to complete this in just one sitting.
varunob's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
What were to happen if you were to vanish into thin air one fine day? Who would go looking for you? Why would you have disappeared? Would someone have found you? Would anyone actually care? Questions such as these rush through your head as you flip/swipe through the pages of Missing, Presumed Dead, eager to know what exactly has happened to Aisha, the protagonist of the novel, and what is going to happen to everyone around her when she walks out of the house one fine day and doesn’t return.
Mental wellbeing is fast becoming an important topic of conversation today, and Kiran Manral puts it front and centre with her protagonist, establishing that Aisha battles her demons day in day out, always trying to keep them at bay, one way or another. The causes of her illness are unravelled over a period of time through the course of the book, and one comes away understanding the character a lot better than one would have otherwise. The key element here is that Manral refuses to turn the illness into a crutch or use it as an identifier of any kind, nor does she limit Aisha as a character due to the illness, painting the rather cruel reality of mental illness that some people just don’t seem to get – that you can seem to be doing exceptionally well on the surface while being on the verge of going to pieces internally.
The toll a person’s illness can take on those around them is a theme Manral tackles through Aisha’s husband Prithvi, with whom she shares a barely functional relationship, while highlighting just how normal their lives can be otherwise, highlighted through the bond between Aisha and her two children.
The few crutches that Manral does employ in the story – the long-lost half-sister turning up out of the blue chief among them – work in the broader scheme of things, and Manral uses to good effect both the setting of the hills, creating an effective aura about the story, as well as genre elements at play.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Confinement
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