Book Review: Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalvani

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When I was working, during the mid-2000s, a terrifying news story came to the forefront: the Nithari murders. A twisted, demonic side of a few human beings, hidden behind luxury and extravagance, was exposed. It made us realise that evil can come in the most unsuspecting form. My latest read, Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalvani, is loosely based on that incident. 

About the Book:

A 23-year-old woman finishes her foreign education with dreams in her eyes. Upon her return, she discovers life is not so easy, with the huge pressure of her own education loan and her father's home loan. Introvert, yet desperate, she chooses a path less taken, a path of destruction, a path of easy but risky hard cash. That finally leads her to join a circle of dangerous and influential people. The book is about her constant thoughts, actions, feelings, guilt, reflection, and redemption. 


About the Author:

Anisha Lalvani works in the field of Communications and actively engages in the nexus of economic opportunity and human well-being. She has lived in multiple cities and has experience in the publishing industry. Her notable professional work includes working for the TV programme Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond and the Jaipur Literary Festival. 

Her Social Media handles are:

X: @Anishal_Writer

Instagram: @anisha.lalvani.54


Synopsis

A nameless young woman, confused between life's choices, good and bad, morality and ambition, takes a route less taken thrice. The first route she takes is to complete her foreign education, which does not go as she wishes; the second is a dangerous and unethical path that makes her stoop to a low; and the third is the path of redemption that makes her connect with the world differently.

My Review

Girls Who Stray is a powerful reflection of an unequal society- a brutal exposure of what actually happens and how we brush those incidents off as "Chalta Hai." Through a young woman's journey from an aspiring student to a life of recklessness and dangerous choices, culminating in her ultimate reconnection with herself and her surroundings, it reveals society's true picture.

The narration in the present tense never discloses any names, other than those of a little girl and a killer. And that's a great way of storytelling, though crude sometimes; this raw crudeness works in favour of the book, provided it's written from the perspective of a young and very confused and distressed woman. 

The narration is haphazard, with incidents presented in a non-sequential format, which again represents the unstable state of the narrator's mind. However, the best thing about the book is its final redemption through a spiritual journey of self-discovery. 

Girls Who Stray is a powerful narrative of finding and reconnecting with oneself through life's ups and downs, moral dilemmas, and spiritual awakening. 

Available on Amazon

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