Five Frightening Stories: Secrets, Sins And Struggles [#BookReview]

Kamini Kusum, in her book Secrets, Sins and Struggles, deals with many questions about the lives of women in today's India.

Kamini Kusum, in her book Secrets, Sins and Struggles, deals with many questions about the lives of women in today’s India.

Given the fact that practically everyday the newspapers are bombarded with news of the atrocities faced by women, the question that arises in our mind is: Is India losing its basic value system? When India is scaling heights in technological advancements, is India retreating backwards when it comes to displaying great respect and dignity towards women? The display of victimization of women in movies like Udta Punjab, Highway, Pink etc. — aren’t they enough for us to ponder on our deviant nature?

These, and many such questions are being dealt in a recent book, Secrets, Sins and Struggles by Kamini Kusum.

Kamini Kusum presents five frightening stories of five women:  Pooja, Geshna, Shrawani, Harsha and Avni. Each of these stories is peculiar in nature. The characters sketched are coloured by their Indian setting coming alive, intertwined with the hiccups encountered in their lives. Through their stories, the author discusses relationships, love, romance, marriage, power, sin, career, sex, forgiveness, and sexual exploitation, etc.

There are tales of women wanting to succeed in one’s career but hooked to thoughts which stand as an obstacle. Stories of women content with their victimized state so as to escape worse conditions. Stories of the strength of women, upon knowing how one is being cheated, and many more voices of this kind.

The last two stories ‘Sin’ and ‘That Rave Party Night’ kept me glued to the book due to its twists and turns. The
author succeeds when the intended effect takes place.

Reading this collection gave birth to a sense of respect towards the feminine gender, it sparked positive energy in me so as to treat with dignity those who incredibly give their lives for the betterment of others.

Secrets, Sins and Struggles

Image source: amazon.in

The narration of the tales is stereotypical; beginning and ending with the similar structure. The cover is simple, picturing five women and the language of the author is fluent and down to earth. Kamini doesn’t resolve the issues discussed as such, but unlocks how these five women dealt with the problems in their lives. Their attitude and approaches towards life.

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Published here earlier.

Image source: By Dell Inc. (Flickr: DWEN Conference 2012 – New Delhi) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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Carlos Luis

Carlos Luis was born and brought up in Varca, Goa. His determination in whatever he does has proved him successful. He is a topper in English literature from Loyola College, Chennai. At present he is read more...

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