Book Review: Thorns of Love by Beena Sunil

‘Thorns of Love’ by Beena Sunil is a terrific novel that explores the darker side of love. It is a story of Eliza, a dark-complexioned, introvert girl. She comes from a good and rich family, where she has a nagging mother, a supporting father, a loving younger sister, and a concerned grandma. She is not as beautiful as her younger sister, Sarah. She is dark and that’s the problem that she finds it tough to accept.

As you read the novel, you will gradually understand that society is subtly ruthless to people who are dark, belongs to lower caste, or don’t have attractive physical appearance. In a nutshell, there is a lot of prejudice in the society. But, our protagonist Eliza is too naïve to understand all this ruckus, she is lost in her world – she fantasizes a lot – there is a voice within her that screams out to her day in, day out – she talks to herself because she isn’t a vociferous person.

The novel is staged against the backdrop of South India. Eliza, despite the unwillingness of her parents, prefers to study literature. She is like any other college student, has friends, sits in cafeteria, and participates in events. Well, the problem starts when her teacher James – quite a handsome man with ear-to-ear smile beguiles her heart. James is expert at making conversation and convincing people. He is eight years elder to her. She falls in love with him. But not everyone can handle love – its pain and pleasures.

They get close. She becomes a recluse for her friends and parents for the sake of James. The change and obsession that occurs to her is worth noting and the author has done a commendable job by showing it inch by inch. Will James marry her? This question almost haunts her half the novel. James expresses his love to her – talks to her all night and longs for an intimacy. James is all that she now wants. But he has some other plans – he marries someone else. It is Masha, a teacher in the same college, whom he marries. Eliza finds it tough to accept that James has deceived her. And for a long time, she thinks that he will come back to her by divorcing Masha. Why did he marry to Masha was not so clear – the author could have made it more thrilling to readers. Also the character of James lacks sweeps…but on the other hand it fits perfectly as an antagonist.

Eliza begins working as a lecturer and James and Masha are already there. Eliza now lives away from her parents – the school she is working at is far from her parental home. She is working for work, not for money or probably to forget James. But his memories always haunt her. She is mentally disturbed and she hates the wife of James. She keeps it secret. She is so introvert that she cannot share the troubles of her life to her parents and friends, but her younger sister and Ragav, a college friend, make out that she is into a bog of life.

Time passes by and James settles in his marriage life and becomes father of two sons. Though being in the same college, they meet and see each other intermittently. Once again, James chases and convinces her. Despite knowing the previous pains, she falls for him again. He copulates with her at his will and says that his wife, Masha, is a sordid creature in the bed, she is like a log of wood. Then again, James starts ignoring Eliza.

To her horror, Eliza realizes that James has used her again in the absence of his wife. And Eliza vows revenge. She doesn’t realize that she is pregnant and keeps torturing Masha and James through calls and SMS. She succeeds in breaking the family of James and as a result they run away from that place.

On the other hand, Eliza’s parents force her to drop the baby but she listens to no one. Her mental status deteriorates. Somehow she gives birth to a baby. After that she becomes addicts to drugs and gropes for life. Also her parents along with their younger daughter Sarah commit suicide. It is sad to note that Eliza was so blind in herself and James that she didn’t realize that she had broken her family as well of James.

After ten years, she comes back to India, to her town, to take her daughter back. She was told that the child was stillborn but she knew it was a lie.

The pace of the novel is a bit slow. At times, Eliza’s soliloquy and infomania may irritate readers, but overall, it is a good book that deeply explores the darker psychic of a lover. For someone, love is life, and for some, love seems to be an object of fun and pleasure. Whatever, the novel has an affliction for the people who think that love is blind as well as for Casanova type lovers. If you are in love, be practical.