Book Review: The Witch in the Peepul Tree by Arefa Tehsin

           I painted the bookmark.

Book: The Witch in the Peepul Tree

Author: Arefa Tehsin

Publisher: Harper Collins India

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 323

Price: ₹324 (paperback on Amazon)

'Omens can't be ignored.'

'Happiness is the most overrated thing in the world.'

Blurb:

It is Makar Sankranti,1950, when sixteen-year-old Sanaz's body is discovered in her father Dada Bhai's house in Bohrawadi, Udaipur. A few of those in and around the house that day are the cruel zamindar Rao sahib of Singhgarh, the devout degenerate Hariharan, the young Bhil Nathu, visiting from a remote tribal village to inform Dada Bhai of a leopard kill, the attractive night soil worker Parijat, and the acerbic widow Sugra, who rolls a rosary and wishes for the jeevti dakkan-the living witch in the peepul tree-to be her secret ally. As the shadows grow long, it becomes clear that something sinister walks the halls of this grand old house. What unfolds is a genre-bending tale of suspense, intrigue and something so much darker.

It's my second book by Arefa Tehsin. In fact, I wanted to read this book mainly because of the author, as I really liked her previous book, The Globetrotters (which is a children's book).

The treatment and execution of this novel is unique and innovative. The story runs over the span of twenty four hours, the day of Makarsankranti. 

It starts on an intriguing note. Sanaz is dead while everyone is busy celebrating Makarsankranti, and her body is found by Ahad, her brother. 'For once, he understood what the leaves of the peepul tree outside were whispering in a strange tongue: the living witch had taken his sister. '

So, why are those people mentioned in the blurb suspects? What's their backstory? What happened that morning, what do they have to do with Sanaz? 

In order to answer these questions, the story goes back, and introduces these characters one by one. 

But the thing is that apart from Parijat's part (who is a beautiful night soil worker), those introductions and backstories didn't interest me. I found it too lengthy. Sanaz's death or murder is totally out of the frame, and by the time investigation begins, you're reading chapter number 21 (more than half of the novel). And I lost interest in knowing the truth.

The story also deals with caste discrimination and other societal atrocities, which reads authentic and well researched.

There are too many characters to remember, and, sadly, I couldn't connect with any of them. For me, it was so difficult to keep track of the number of characters and their stories and motives. 

The best thing about this novel is the writing: it is neat, the language is very good and it creates nice imagery of the setting and the gloomy atmosphere.

I can't say that I enjoyed reading this novel very much. I was losing patience as I was going through the back to back character introduction and their backstories. But, I must admit that l am an impatient reader. If you are someone who reads patiently, then you might enjoy reading this novel. The ending will surprise you.

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