The Book of Everlasting Things - Aanchal Malhotra

AUTHOR: Aanchal Malhotra

NARRATOR: Deepti Gupta

GENRE: Indian Historical Fiction

RATING: 3.5 stars

In a Nutshell: An epic romantic drama spanning decades, focussing on two characters whose lives were upended by the 1947 partition of India & Pakistan. Expected more focus on the partition, but this remains character-oriented than country-oriented. Nevertheless, an interesting read.

Story Synopsis:

When ten-year-old trainee perfumer Samir Vig met eight-year-old trainee calligrapher Firdaus Khan in Lahore in 1938, there was an instant connection between them. About a decade later, Samir and Firdaus are hoping for a beautiful future together when there’s devastating news: the British are finally leaving India, but the country is to be divided into India and Pakistan. At first, no one knows where Lahore will end up as it has a Hindu-majority population. But once the new borders become known, the battle lines between old friends are drawn. Caught in the religious and political melee are the two young lovers. Destiny takes them away from each other, and only time can tell if they will meet again.

The story spans multiple countries and almost eight decades.

I had heard a lot about acclaimed writer-historian Aanchal Malhotra’s ‘Remnants of a Separation’ and have been meaning to read it since ages. But when I saw that she has written her first fiction novel set around the Indo-Pak partition, I knew I had to give it a try. Reading a fictional work written by a historian has plenty of pros and plenty of cons as well.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 I learnt a lot about perfumery (and ittar-making) and calligraphy, and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT!

😍 If you are a historical fiction reader, you might have read plenty of stories about European experiences during WWI or WWII. But hardly anyone knows that Indian soldiers (referred to as the ‘British Indian Army’ under the colonial rule) played a massive role in both the wars. This book finally highlights that “we were also there”. We were also killed. We also suffered. And it wasn’t even our war! While this wasn’t the primary focus of the story, it still gets enough attention, and I appreciate the inclusion and that line: “We were also there”.

😍 Though the details of the partition weren’t as extensive as I had expected, the pain comes out clearly nonetheless. This isn’t the best book I have read about our country’s forced split, but it is among the better ones. I applaud the author’s decision to present both sides of the story (Hindu & Muslim) without siding with either.

😍 The characters are sketched very realistically. None of them are perfect but almost real human beings with their delicate egos and their blatant flaws. There are plenty of memorable secondary characters.

😍 Though I still refuse to accept that a ten-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl can have an instant romantic connect, the rest of the relationship between Samir and Firdaus is developed nicely. I love their closeness, their rapport, and their sacrifices for each other. The first two sections are focussed on them, and these were easily the best sections of the book.

😍 The historical depiction of Lahore seems spot on. The city is described in such wonderful detail that I could almost picture it before my eyes. The advantage of having a historian as an author is that the accuracy is reliable and believable.

😍 The prose is lyrical and mesmerising. The author has a knack for stringing words beautifully, and there are plenty of quotable quotes. There are also many Hindi words and phrases, but these are explained well or are guessable from context.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

💔 The disadvantage of having a historian as an author is that there are way too many historical data incorporated in the story, whether they are necessary to the plot or not. Having some data helps, but when random characters start spouting random data, it seems extraneous.

💔 I thought that this was a story about the partition. However, a great chunk of the initial buildup is towards the romance between Samir and Firdaus. Then there are a few chapters on the partition itself, and the rest is about the characters’ lives much after the partition. I guess calling this a family epic or a historical romance would be more accurate than assuming it to be partition literature.

💔 The middle section of the book is too repetitive. Characters seem to say and think the same thing over and over again. Oh, the number of times there is a reference to “pistachio eyes”! It is so irritating after a while!

The audiobook experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 17hrs 22 min, is narrated by Deepti Gupta. I have heard plenty of audiobooks narrated by Indian origin narrators but this is the first time I felt like I was listening to an Indian. Her voice took a while to grow on me, but after a while, I got into the groove. Furthermore, there are plenty of French lines in the plot, and Gupta handles them equally well. Her male voices weren’t too friendly on my ears, but otherwise, she put up a pretty good performance. I would surely recommend the audio version, especially as the book is quite ponderous in between.

PS: I can't tell you how thrilled I was to hear Indian introductory music at the start and the end of the audiobook. Such small touches make such a big difference to our experience.

All in all, this is a book that goes much beyond what it promises – it covers partition, history, romance, tragedy, family relationships, PTSD,… This isn’t necessarily a good thing. In attempting so much, I feel that it lost its core focal point. I have seen this happen with many debut authors; they want to include every topic under the sun into their first book itself. Why? Keep some themes in stock for your next work!

It is still a good enough book, but it could have been marvellous had it been finetuned and all the superfluous arcs had been edited away. I did learn a lot about our history; it just wasn’t the kind of history I expected to learn!

Recommended to those looking for an authentic Indian historical fiction, a story of a tragic relationship, and a glimpse of the Indo-Pak ethos of the era. Not recommended if you want “romantic romance” or a detailed look at the post-partition violence.

3.5 stars, rounding up for the audio version.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Book of Everlasting Things”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.