Love to Hurt You by Rahul Saini
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 220
Price: Rs. 52.50 INR(Kindle Edition), Rs. 299 INR(Paperback)
ISBN: 978–9353450670
Buy here: https://amzn.to/3vxZ3Dw
My take on the book:
Sasha has all the money and luxuries in the world at her disposal but what excites her most is hurting men, inflicting extreme violence on them, and capturing that in her art. Garun successfully manipulated and emotionally blackmailed his parents to buy him a luxury penthouse flat when they left the country for his father’s new overseas work assignment. Garun enjoyed hooking up with random girls on most nights and at other times drew joy from torturing and killing insects and birds that entered his house.
Maya’s world came crashing down when her boyfriend suddenly passed away due to drug overdose. She withdraws into a cocoon, misses an year at college to produce a blockbuster novel, but is unable to overcome her grief. Garun and Maya meet at college when Maya decides to repeat her class again, while Garun and Sasha meet when Garun decides to pursue a new avenue to make quick money. Where does their actions take them forms the rest of the story.
I earlier read another novel from author Rahul The Part I Left With You which also had a similar narration style — characters who start as total strangers but as the story progresses the connection between them is established in unexpected ways. Each chapter is narrated by one of the three characters from their point of view, hence the mood of the story swings based on the person narrating it.
Sasha personifies hidden angst, Maya unrequited love, Garun arrogance and each of them have a different take on love and relationships. The author begins by showcasing an extreme side of each of these three characters and as the story progresses the reasons for their respective behaviors is revealed in layers. The author keeps the reader guessing till the end as the story keeps taking unexpected twists.
The story revolves around only three characters, but the author captures the reader’s attention with these minimal characters. Most of the story can be classified as erotica and hence strictly advised for readers above eighteen years. This story is a risky attempt by the author in the Indian novel context and is recommended for those who do not mind dark stories.
My rating:
4/5.