A stick in the dirt by Vidit Uppal
A stick in the dirt
by Vidit Uppal
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Rating 4.3/5
Blurb
Saurabh’s birth is celebrated across the town of Konkur, where people rejoice in the arrival of the much-admired Vinod and Shashi Parashars’ first offspring. Soon, their neighbour’s 5-year-old daughter Vidya is entrusted with the responsibility of Saurabh’s daily wellbeing.
They grow up together among the secluded trees, hills and narrow roads of the small town, spending much of their time in an abandoned graveyard they discover near their homes.
But when Saurabh starts showing signs of trouble, their seemingly idyllic world begins to quickly unravel. As the incidents become more frequent and violent, he is brandished a pariah by the very people who had once held him aloft. Vidya, Shashi and Vinod’s struggle to come to terms with Saurabh’s impulses, becomes the uncomfortable thread that binds them together and leads them to re-evaluate their own lives and relationships.
Traversing through the realms of guilt and solitude, A Stick in the Dirt attempts to grapple with the uncomfortable nature of the unknown and with what it means to be misunderstood by those closest to us.
But when Saurabh starts showing signs of trouble, their seemingly idyllic world begins to quickly unravel. As the incidents become more frequent and violent, he is brandished a pariah by the very people who had once held him aloft. Vidya, Shashi and Vinod’s struggle to come to terms with Saurabh’s impulses, becomes the uncomfortable thread that binds them together and leads them to re-evaluate their own lives and relationships.
Traversing through the realms of guilt and solitude, A Stick in the Dirt attempts to grapple with the uncomfortable nature of the unknown and with what it means to be misunderstood by those closest to us.
My Thoughts
For me, it is a story about the limitless nature of home, family and relationships. It needs no house, it needs no country, it needs nothing but our loved ones, determined to stay together. And it also raises pertinent questions about the same. Can we really ever separate ourselves from our loved ones, and should we?
Book does make me think more deeply about relationships. The instances in Vidit's book are always gentle, moving, subtle, written seamlessly into the prose making them almost insignificant until you pay attention to them. You know a book is brilliant when it makes you laugh and cry without making you feel like cheated, like you’ve been put into a tried-and-tested plot. This book certainly does that.
It made me feel, and the feeling was genuine. A wonderfully touching and loving book, this one will certainly stay with me.
A must read for sure!
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