Ancient Promises by Jaishree Misra

Book Name: Ancient Promises

Author: Jaishree Misra

Genre: Drama, Romance

About the book: The story revolves around Janu, a Delhi bred Malayali girl who is married off to a family based in Kerala. Janu, never really wanted that life for herself. She had met someone in Delhi, Arjun, who she thought was her one. Unfortunately, life and family had other plans for her and she found herself in a small town in Kerala. Her new family does not really want her there either as she soon realises. Her attempts to making herself acceptable to her husband and his family are in vain. She has a baby, who is then to become her friend and only companion in the house. However, there too fate plays a cruel joke. Riya, her daughter turns out to be a special needs child. Things get worse but for once there seems to be a chance for Janu. She meets Arjun on a trip to Delhi. Her ticket away from the loveless marriage, or is it? Will Janu be able to live happily ever after with Arjun or will she be forced to live her life with all its misery.

I got this book on a recommendation from a friend. She had rave reviews to give me. Maybe because of that, I too had a lot of expectations from this book. I must at the outset say, that the book really didn’t meet my expectations. Did it make for a good read? Yes. I found it very easy to read and yes I really did want to know what happens to Janu at the end. Could the book have been better? I believe so. It is not that the book is boring. It is just that there were places that were stretched out and then there were places that we really would have liked more details.

There are many references in Malayalam and about the Malayali way of life that maybe lost on someone who does not understand it. Infact, the author does manage to beautifully capture the way things would be said or done in a normal Malayali household.

I would say this book is one of those books that you can read if you stumble upon it. But it is not something that makes you want to reach for it if you see it in the bookstore. Like I said before, maybe my disappointment comes from the fact that I expected much more because of the rave reviews. If anyone thinks differently after reading this book, do let me know.

My rating: 3/5