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Book Review: Scarred Earth by Bhaswar Mukherjee

Scarred Earth by Bhaswar Mukherjee is a poignant novel that features two young characters from diverse family backdrop. As the narrative of their fate unfolds, they converge towards a somewhat similar adversity. The novel features mainly two very young characters, Baruni and Muneim. Long after closing the novel, it is likely that you will remember both the young hearts for taking stance in the face of adversity with transcendental resilience.


As the novel opens up, readers are introduced to the abject poverty landscape of a remote village named Banguran in West Bengal, which acts as an axis for the entire storyline. Most of the novel’s trajectory flares up from this place. Baruni is from this village. Her family is poor, thus, exploited by a corrupt police inspector named Kalicharan Ray. Her father is taken in the custody for supporting rebel groups and her mother dies – all happens so instantly that she hardly gets time to bid farewell to them. As soon as the village burns with communal riots, nothing is left for Baruni, except a lacerated past and uncertain future.

The novel alternates within two narratives. In Kolkata, we meet the other lead character Muneim – a privileged kid from a rich business family. His father longs him to see in his business with right set of academics. Well, the boy differs in tenacity. He did something that puts his father off. He is thrown out of home.

Baruni and Muneim are connected through a common character but they both underwent struggle of various degrees in life. The author builds moments of tension, uncertainty, betrayals, and mistrust, fate swirls in their lives…but Baruni outshines other characters effortlessly. If Muneim’s race is for his choice of academics, well Baruni has to fend herself and to find out that villain from the fire of Banguran that caused irreparable destruction in her life.

The novel keeps moving on, one after another characters flit by…leaving subtle impact and nudge the storyline on the back of main characters. The novel pragmatically examines a gamut of themes such as Naxal rebels, father-son bonding and relationship, communal strife, revenge, teenage psychology, struggle of orphans and so on.

To balance the story, the author brilliantly unfolds the phases of the plotline in Kolkata, Siliguri, and Banguran. Be it any young character, they have good share of their obstacles in life but the interesting tapestry of narrative brings them face to face…discovering that elemental epic is the real fun of the book. Nothing is predictable, the intense narrative of the book keeps readers on the hook and they might feel excited to see the final destiny of these two characters. In the novel you will discover love, lust, revenge, friendships, compassion and much more through the fate stories of young characters that defy all the odds of life and stood resilient in the heat of adversity caused by unwanted scaffold of their societies.

Bhaswar Mukherjee weaves his story with an intensity that you cannot ignore. He defines the indomitable spirit of the characters by allowing you to sneak closely in their bizarre lives.

The novel is available to buy from Amazon and Kindle

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