Hidden Husband – Book Review

Author: Shikha Kaul

Paperback: 240 Pages

Publisher: Gargi Publisher (June 29th 2015)

Language: English

Genre: Contemporary

ISBN-10: 9384382078

ISBN-13:  978-9384382070

About The Book:

Aisha is trapped in her own secret which makes her life hell. Her love for Raghav is true. But hailing from two very different cultures is the basis of their continued friction. Aisha is a Punjabi girl from Gurgaon and Raghav a Bihari from Ranchi. Raghav’s family will certainly not accept a girl from outside their community. And yet, he continues giving her false hopes through his efforts and promises. And then they take a step which entangles her life further. Will she manage to come out of this quandary or must she continue to live in her self-created web? Explore her journey that makes her realise the atrocities being committed on women in the Indian society and the tough decisions she must take, keeping her most loved ones oblivious to everything happening in her life.

About The Author:

Shikha Khanduja Kaul is an Indian who was born in Amritsar, Punjab. Her family moved to Gurgaon in 1992 and she has seen the city grow from a small town to being the Millennium City of India. Did her schooling from Gurgaon and later Graduated in Physics Honours from Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University. Holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration in HR from Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning.
A mother to a beautiful daughter and a wife to the handsomest husband, a daughter to the loving parents and a daughter-in-law to the most caring parents-in-law….Works in the Staffing industry and is passionate about writing her thoughts and creating stories from nowhere….loves to dance and spend time with her little princess. A complete working woman who ensures she goes to bed with a content smile every day. Manages her 24 hours perfectly, balancing her personal and professional lives.
She found her passion for writing not too long ago. Her debut fiction novel is a love story with a touch of realities prevailing in Indian society which has been biased against women for centuries. She hopes to come up with at least one novel every year for as many years as she can. With multiple ideas and variety to offer, she wishes her readers ‘Happy Reading’.

My Take:

 To start with, the name itself is intriguing enough to pick up the book as soon as you see it, and the book does complete justice to it. The book shows how far a person go on the path of love just to make it its own. The reader feels to be watching a movie straight out of someone’s life instead of reading the book. It’s as smooth and easy going. At first it might seem one of those love-hit books which end at the happy ending but it’s not. This book through its narration takes the reader onto the journey of the protagonist. The reader can feel both joy and pain for being in love and being out of love.

The characters are also real and imaginable, just like you and me. It is understandable why the character does whatever he/she does. They behave exactly the way anyone would be behaving if faced with similar situations. The protagonist, Aisha does justice to her her role and so does Raghav.

Though the story becomes repetitive at times but the urge to know what happens next keeps the reader going. Though the narration could have been better at a few places but still within 200-something pages one very well experiences the whole life of the protagonist. This book very beautifully and subtly showcases the hypocrisy of the so-called modern Indian society in 21st century, where it claims to be broadminded but doesn’t behaves to be like one. It claims to educate its daughters but still don’t accept an education girl as daughter-in-law on the pretext of caste. This very thing has been ruining the lives of people who dare to love, ever since. This pained is well-written by the author.

On the last note, the book is a perfect take on society and love and how they still can’t co-exist.

 My Rating:

3.75/5

And now I’ll leave you with a few lines from the book.

 “Compliments have the puissance to do magic to a woman’s demeanor!”

“There’s no guarantee that all will be perfect but the how did another day keeps us going.”

“I choose only your parents. Rest are all your choices. Your decisions are your fate. You are the writer of story of your own life.”

“Dad’s are the sweetest and the most innocent gifts of God, especially for daughters.”

“Some things happen only once in a lifetime and stay forever.”

“Sometimes you have to leave yourself to the mercy of someone else. Not because you are weak or less powerful but just because nature wants it that way.”

“It was so simple to be extremely complicated.”

“Your places can change, and so can time.”

“Life is a vicious circle. You finish everything that you begin within this orbit.”

 This is an unbiased review, done on request by the Author. For more reviews Click here. For Review Requests Contact Here.