Book Review: The Diary on the Fifth Floor by Raisha Lalwani

'It was a short  questionnaire  -- contact information, primarily---but  the first question already made me pause.  I  had to be careful, or the whole thing would fall apart.

Name -- the question seemed to mock me.'

Isn't it intriguing?

Sharing a few lines from the blurb as it intrigued me.


'A woman leaves her infant at home but finds her on a busy street in an unexpected turn of events.
Another woman wakes up in a flight hours later, befuddled, in the strangest circumstance.
A fascinating tale of a twenty-five-year-old woman that takes hold of us from the moment she enters the fifth floor of a hospital; more precisely, the psychiatric ward.'

The blurb says it's a fascinating tale of a twenty-five-year old woman...

Yes, it is, but it's hardly about that woman. It's about the sad/shocking stories about other people {her friends/aunt and sometimes unknown, friends of friends, maybe} that depress her and make her believe that the world is an unkind place.

Here, I feel that the blurb of this book is a tad misleading. Also, the cover ---it reflects a certain kind of eeriness and mystery, but the story doesn't.

'The Diary On The Fifth Floor' by Raisha Lalwani {Published by Rupa Publications}  is basically a collection of short stories, or rather some odd/shocking events, in the diary format. 

Although the stories are in diary form, some of them have been told from the third person perspective. The stories  are all about other people that affected Savannah, the main character ---- a smart, working and depressed woman--- deeply. But, there's nothing 'About Savannah'. I wanted to know more about Savannah and her life. 

Since it's a collection of short stories, there are several characters but they seem insignificant and easily forgettable. Savannah and Dr. Berry {the psychiatrist} are the main characters. 

We know nothing about Savannah except she is depressed and worried about the unkindness of the world, however, there's not a single incident that shows that the world has been particularly unkind to her. She is too caring and thoughtful, I guess, that mere hearing sad/shocking stories {sometimes not that shocking} about other people depressed her, so much that she needed to see a psychiatrist. A little implausible. 

I really like the psychiatrist, Dr. Berry.

I liked the writing style. Stories are very short and nicely crafted that makes this book an easy read. 

'Some things are understood but they have to be said, just because they're important. A mother doesn't have to tell her children that she loves them. The whole world knows it, yet she says it.'

Overall, it was an interesting and quick read. However, it's not that striking as I had expected or the blurb of the book made me expect.