THE OBSCURE LOGIC OF THE HEART

TITLE: THE OBSCURE LOGIC OF THE HEART

AUTHOR: PRIYA BASIL

Pages: 506

Date: 31/08/2011

Grade: 4+

Details: Received from and reviewed for Transworld Books

When Anil and Lina meet in London as students, they are immediately attracted to each other, and very slowly they get closer and start a relationship. From the start though their love affair is plagued with trouble. Lina is a Muslim from a religious family, whereas Anil is a non-practising Sikh, originally from Kenya.

Because Lina expects strong objections from her family, she keeps the relationship a secret, but even once they are found out and her family forbids her to continue, Lina can’t give Anil up, and the pair keep on finding ways to be together, despite the opposition.

It is not just Lina’s family complicating the relationship though. Anil comes from a different world. Rich and spoilt, his is a world where money talks and corruptions rules.

Eventually Lina will have to make a heartbreaking decision between her family and the love of her life. But are decisions always irreversible?

This is a powerful love story. But it is so much more than that too. Dealing with cultural differences, religion, famine, and illegal trading in weapons the reader is brought to a world where answers are never simple and every decision has heartbreaking consequences.

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t help rooting for Anil and Lina although both of them exasperated me at times too. In fact at more than one occasion I couldn’t help feeling that if ever two people were unsuited to each other, it was this pair.

I do think the book could probably have been a bit shorter without losing any of its power. There did seem to be a bit of repetition which I could have done without.

However, this book was also a learning experience for me, opening my eyes to lots of issues I had never really thought about before.

Overall, this was a powerful and well told story and one I’m very glad I read.

Transworld Book Group