The Homecoming by Preeti Shenoy
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My take on the book:
After her past secret was revealed, Alka has decided to make peace with her husband Subbu and wanted to start their relationship fresh; Alka urged Subbu to communicate more openly with her. To rejuvenate from her daily household grind, Alka decided to visit a nearby homestay of Gowri. Gowri who was an acquaintance of Alka’s in-laws unintentionally revealed Subbu’s past which Alka was totally unaware of. Though Alka confronted Subbu, he would not answer her straight, thus creating more vacuum between them.
Soon Subbu was attacked by a rogue elephant, and he sustained serious injuries, including a head injury that pushed him into a coma. While Subbu was in a vegetative state after a major operation, Alka was faced with multiple challenges — the estate which was run by Subbu is in deep losses with multiple loans and interests eating into the revenue, her feelings for Krish have come back with a vengeance, and more secrets of Subbu are revealed which Alka never even dreamt of.
Faced with emotional and financial crisis, all suffocating her at the same time, will Alka be able to navigate these tough times alone? Will Subbu ever recover from an almost death situation after multiple surgeries?
Sequel to A Place Called Home, The Homecoming begins where the first part ended. Though there is no designated recap, the author makes sure to refer to events from the first part for the reader who is reading this one first. But I will personally recommend everyone to read the first part, as it is a wonderful book and will also help understand the characters better. While the first book dealt with Alka’s childhood struggles, college life and few tough choices she made as an adult, the second part is a full-blown account of how the choices made by Subbu, Krish and Alka came back to haunt them a decade later.
While the first part revolved mostly around Alka and Krish, the second one is about Subbu though he is sick and recovering for most of the book. The reasons behind Subbu’s relationship dynamic with Alka are revealed by the author in this book. The author handles multiple parallel threads deftly, with sensitive approach towards scenarios considered taboos in our society.
The coffee estate adds to the mood of the story, and the homestays are a bonus in this part, transporting the readers to the picturesque locales. While most twists are predictable, what keeps the reader engaged are the conflicts between the characters, the emotional turmoil, resilience and their moral compass.
I wish Krish had a more solid character graph in this part; though he is there from start to end, I felt his character could have been given more weightage as Alka overshadows him and he remains a secondary character. Even Chanda has more impact though her character is there only in the last 50 pages or so. Since the ending is not conclusive, I hope there is a third part where the entangled relationships from book two have a proper closure.
If you have read book one and liked it, it is a no brainer this should be a default read. Even otherwise, if you like reading stories about complex relationships, then this is a must read.
My rating:
4/5.
This review is part of the Blogchatter Book Review Program.