Memorable – #AForgottenAffair by Kanchana Banerjee

A Forgotten Affair

#AForgottenAffair is a deep, lyrical, and unsettling read for a love story yet it explores so many emotions and feelings as it shares another shade of love. Sagarika is struck in a world where everything is new, different and distant. No memories, domineering yet ambiguous husband and a nonexistent family adds to her feeling lost as do the servants who spy. As she tries to make sense of her new self-obstacles litter her path.

The cover is what caught my fancy, so fresh, different and classy. The significance of the flowers, the reason for the title of the book and what is Sagarika truly searching for comes through in the book. Kudos to Kanchana and HarperCollins, Harlequin imprint for this evocative cover.

 

On the surface, #AForgottenAffair reads as a love story should. I felt the rage and pain that Rishab suffered as he fought to bring his wife from the brink of death. I felt the fear and sadness Rika experiences while she tries to recover, tries to love her husband and tries to remember what she is being told is important. Yet all is not what it seems, slowly the cracks appear and Kanchana entangles the reader in the abyss that Rika seems to be falling. Friends who want to help but are shut out. I could see the girl is in trouble, that the husband is definitely weird yet I could only read page after page, hoping for her safety, hoping for a miracle.

The book is fast-paced, even as it is based in just one house where Rika is recovering, searching for the love she is reminded of, looking for the feelings she must have. Painfully, poignant as the pressure of words like ‘cheeni’  and fragrances, flashes of the past that threaten to bring her under as she struggles to find herself. I followed Rika eagerly as she stumbled and falters trying to find her life in an alien city.

A Forgotten Affair

There is infidelity, abuse, and neglect – rich or poor, these vices find means to entrench themselves. Deepa, the cousin who is too sweet. Roohi, the friend who seems so weird. Akash, the man who seems weak and strong at the same time – can he be trusted if her own husband is failing?

This book reminded me that like love, pain can go everywhere. Like truth, lies and deceit find home at the same places. A Forgotten Affair is a book to be savored, as it divulges the sinister human nature. What could have happened if she had not met with the accident, how far would the men in her life go to possess her?

The writing is  very expressive, the conversation helps the story move and add a touch of reality to her story. This the first novel by Kanchana but it sure does not read like one with the smooth language, flowing sentences and crisp expressions.

What I felt that Akash and Rishab could have spoken. Shekhar was a friend but whose friend is he really? Sagarika really stands up for herself yet it felt a bit surreal. She was one lucky girl!

Instead of Jay, maybe Shekhar could have been more proactive saving the day. Also, I want to know Shekhar better, he plays an important role and I fell he has grown from a secondary character to an important one – I want to know his story. The mist is still lifting as Sagarika reacquaints with her life.

Kanchana and her writing left me with a good feeling, #AForgottenAffair is passionate, different and memorable. Read it to remember that the most important things in life are easily forgotten. Cherish them, cherish yourself.

A Forgotten Affair 

by

Kanchana Banerjee

A Forgotten Affair

 

 

Sagarika Mehta walks out of her nine-year-old marriage, meets with a near-fatal accident and goes into a deep coma all on the same day. After six months, she wakes up with no memory of her past. When she is discharged from hospital a year later, Rishab, her husband, whisks her away to an unfamiliar address in Gurgaon to convalesce.

There, in that plush apartment, with people waiting on her hand and foot, Sagarika can’t shake off the feeling that something is wrong.

Why does the scent of a particular cologne unsettle her? Why does the innocuous word ‘cheeni’ bother her? And why is Rishab so evasive in response to her queries about her past?

A Forgotten Affair is a gripping story of a woman caught between two worlds.

 

Buy on Amazon :http://amzn.to/2aFYZaN

Kindle lovers: http://amzn.to/2aCu2Z1

Comments

  1. Post
    Author
  2. Lata Sunil

    With that fabulous cover and your review, I want to read it right away.. adding to my TBR and wishlist.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.