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Hindustan Times

Book review: Lopa Ghosh's Age of Mondays uses lyrical prose to bring magical realism to Delhi

A precocious 10-year-old, a fractured family, a woman adamant on breaking her shackles, an emotionally distant but present father, a magical forest, a Pandora's box of lessons — in her third novel, author Lopa Ghosh manages to explore all these and more with profound thematic depth within a narrative set in Delhi. At first glimpse, the reader is enchanted by the seemingly uncomplicated world of a child, where wonder and curiosity colour in the gaping holes of adult evasion and silences. But alongside Narois, the protagonist, the reader is also catapulted into a colourful world of 'Motherless Mondays' as lines between reality and fantasy begin to blur. Soon, the murkiness of adult actualities — grief, betrayal, loneliness, drugs, death, duality — seems to catch up as one turns the pages one after the other. But right when the innate sense of awe for the world starts crumbling, one gets to enter the mystical world of Jahanpanah Forest, where one meets Jugnus: Sliver Samir, Mian Pagla, Kochi, and Velu. They are healers and weather-workers, but most importantly they are storytellers and saviours of a lost time; in a tale that is both coming of age and of a terrifying era lost to time. What follows is the lead character's struggle to cope with the trauma of abandonment, and the build up of resilience through the innocent yet perceptive eyes of a child who confronts loss for the very first time! The intersection of illusion and reality, coupled with the lyrical and precisely presented prose, evokes a sense of magical realism that is very much reminiscent of the writings of Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. However, what Ghosh asserts is an abject refusal to simplify the either childhood or the adulthood. So through Narois' tender yet sharp gaze, the reader is introduced to a deeply affecting portrait of growing up in a world that does not explain itself. Title: Age of Mondays Author: Lopa Ghosh Publisher: HarperCollins Price: ₹499