Book Review: #IAM16ICanRape by Kirtida Gautam

About the book:

Title:  #IAm16ICanRape

Published by: 

Paperback, 1 edition, 593 pages
Published August 22nd 2015 by Read Out Loud Publishing LLP 

Rating:  3.5/5

Blurb:

To destroy great EVIL, GOOD has to shed tears of blood. 

Rudransh Kashyap is a self-made billionaire and man of high moral fiber. His life is shattered when he returns home one day to find that his prodigy, his 16-year-old grandson, Aarush, has been arrested and accused of a brutal gang rape. It is easy to say, “Kill the Rapist” but what if the accused is your child? 

This case takes an unprecedented turn when Aarush’s identity is made public on social media. Rudransh finds himself living a nightmare as he fights against tremendous odds to get justice for Aarush, to save him and to bring him back home… But what if the unthinkable is true? Can Rudransh save his grandson, or will he end up fighting a different battle altogether?

About the author

Kirtida is a clinical psychologist turned screenplay writer who completed her education from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, India. Her passion for psychology and writing inspired her into writing psychological thrillers. While the readers are reading this introduction, the next thriller is in the making...

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My Review:

First off, one cannot just read this book and not commend the author for the stand that she has taken.
She has not just discussed and deliberated the issue on the surface, but through her carefully etched plot and characters, she has managed to bring an entire gamut of secondary and primary issues related to the crime into the big picture. I really cannot commend her enough.

It is a long book, but a simple one, and with the resonance of December 16 in its plot, it creeps the goosebumps out of you. Reading the book, you realise it is your moral responsibility to give a little more thought to all of this than you do now, to make this world a better place.
The story follows many themes and explores a lot of relationships, between a teenager and his domestic help, between him and his estranged parents, etc. And it makes you think that maybe we should care more about how dysfunctional and broken  families have larger consequences than we ever thought.
It shows that a lot of effort has gone into the alternate narration given to multiple characters. Keeping up a plot of this intensity, and twists is really an arduous task well done in this case.


And, it also emphasis a point that has me in complete agreement: that we can never fully understand a human mind, and questioning should become a habit. Individualism is the truth and we cannot really make conclusions about a family based on one person.

I do feel that the book could have benefited a lot from a little more editing that could've made it seamless and racy, but the effort that has gone into it shows.

Links to the book:

Source of the review copy: Author

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If I ever buy antiques, they'd be books!

I was contacted by Invaluable.com recently, an online auction site with a huge collection of valuable books. They asked me if I felt like putting together my dream literary collection from antique books they have to offer and I thought why not.

I'm a college student and I'm usually broke. That's stating the obvious. But, like most enthused students I too harbor desires and hopes, and one of them is to be filthy rich enough to own an envious collection of antique books.

I dream about my most prized possession (read: books) actually becoming my most prized possession. Rusty pages, the raw form of the manuscript, the vulnerability of the first draft: all of this is reason enough for spending the big bucks on antique books. The intoxication of first editions hardcovers is irresistible and overpowering to me.

Here's my ideal literary collection, I might  must keep adding to it.

• The Great Gatsby 

The story may have sounded extravagant to people, but to me it is one of the most beautiful I have read. Of all the classics, this one HAS to be my favorite. The one available at Invaluable.com is described as "publisher's dark green cloth, front cover blind-stamped, spine gilt-lettered, cocked, bottom corners bumped with light exposure, spine tips slightly rubbed with tiny split at head; supplied with facsimile dust jacket; dime-sized stain to rear endpapers". What would I not give to have it in my hands?

• Classics, and then some

Other classics on my list are: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Diary of Anne Frank.

• A Christmas Carol

Uncle Scrooge is my childhood villain, and the hope that everyone learns and corrects his/her wrongdoings. 

• Christmas books by Charles Dickens

It is the holiday season! Dickens is what drew me to reading voraciously. I remember poring over each word of A Tale of Two Cities because I liked his style of writing so much. The intrigue it held then is still there, and I'd love to have this in my dream literary collection.

• Dracula by Bram Stroker

The book is about a vampire, it has a tan clothing on it and is fingersoiled. I cannot wait to open it and smell it already! 

• The Merchant of Venice

I remember when I was 11 year old and was bowled over by Portia's sagacity. I still am in love with that character.