Into The Water - Paula Hawkins

Fiction has always played a great role in my life. I have been awestruck by the make-belief world for as long as I can remember. I find it very easy to immerse myself into the world created by another fellow human being. It is fascinating, isn't it? The power it holds over us? I guess we are all sub-missives in that sense. It is gripping how the same words can evoke such a variety of emotions in different people at different time. And the way these emotions are exploited by the author is just so, for the lack of any better word, real.

Lately I've been very much intrigued by the psyche behind the creators' that serve us these fascinating worlds on the table that we so love to feed on. Not so much the stories, but how they sort of get around to it in their heads before penning them down; which brings me to this book:-

Now, before I say anything on this topic, I think I might as well clarify how I feel about reviews: Not a fan. I run away from them as much as much possible because they tend to taint my mind somehow, no matter how hard I try to not let it. Especially the ones that sort of toil around the plots of the books/movies/series, etc. (Ratings are a whole other topic. obviously.) So as much as I hate to admit, this is probably going to be a kind of review, because we are hypocrites :) But mostly because I have to vent.

But I'll actively try not to talk about the book (much), instead let's talk about Paula Hawkins, the writer. And more importantly her brilliance in capturing the complexity of human nature in a way that the readers' readily dive into the water holding on to their dear life through her words.

I had read The Girl On The Train last year. Did not think much about it, except that I had to finish it in one go. Without realizing, I had postponed every activity for the day and could only catch my breath once I finished it. See, I am not a fast reader. I like to savour every moment of the book as I read on (and that's one of my many excuses for reading slow!). So when it happened again with this book, it wasn't me suddenly reading fast or not getting distracted as often as I usually do or even me trying not to "savour the moment"!. It was HER doing.

I was immediately at awe at her understanding of her readers. She could literally direct the readers to keep going, sometimes even against their better judgement! It is not just her mind-blowing story that people are holding on to, it is her shrewd story-telling. Making short and umpteen chapters is one of the oldest tricks in engaging people's attention. But add that to her numerous characters that she effortlessly juggles throughout the novel between protagonist and supporting persona with utmost flamboyance. Definitely not a piece of cake. Imagine the number of notes she made on each of her characters; their background stories their mentality their way of speaking, etc. Most of which probably did not even come to light! And she does it so fluently that you almost miss the deliberation behind it. Kind of like Casey Neistat's vlogs, if you ask me!

Another thing about her writing which I particularly like is her usage of euphemism. Not in terms of 'vulgar slang' but in her lack of usage of strong seemingly gloomy words that otherwise loom large on any psychological fictions and crime thrillers. (I could give examples but then I might give away somethings, so I'm avoiding it) She finds her way around these dark topics without using the obvious key words in her description which is rather refreshing. And it is also kind of a risk in her case since she jumps between scenes so quickly and if you are not paying attention you are likely to miss some real shit.

Is it the best book I've ever read? Of course not! But it sure is one of the more ingenious ones. And it definitely deserves a read.

I found her epigraph for this book to be quite encapsulating:

Or may be I am self-projecting my issues here. Either way, you can figure out which 'sheath' to put on 'cause you know very well that your brain is about to have some coitus!

Happy reading!

:(:

P.s. - I hope I haven't given much of the book away. I really feel that having a fresh perspective that is untouched by 'critics' (not that I'm one) is necessary in order to get an insight into the book that it is exclusively unique. But I have also come to realize that sometimes we tend to miss out on things that we never even knew existed in the first place! So this my unschooled, amateur and vague way of doing that. Hope we can have a discussion over it :)