Book Title: Borderline
Author: Shabri Prasad Singh
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury India; First edition (10 October 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9386643065
ISBN-13: 978-9386643063
Blurb:
With this true life narrative turned fictional, delve into the life and thoughts of Amrita Srivastava.
Harbouring an almost devotional love for her father and unable to cope with the legal separation of her parents, this is the account of how she is subsequently diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and the powerful story of how she eventually overcomes her demons.
Having shifted from Chandigarh to New York to study, Amrita has just about begun to adjust to the new city when her life is thrown into disarray by the death of her father. Acting as a trigger, this event leads to a series of abusive relationships. Forced by a breakdown to leave her studies in New York, she tries to make a new life for herself in Delhi. Unsettled by the continuous changes, Amrita descends into a hard partying lifestyle fuelled by alcohol and drugs. Written as part of her healing process, this is a searing confession about the challenges she faces before finally reaching to the process of rehab and therapy.
Calibrating itself to the turning of the mind’s endlessly churning machinery, this novel gives one the rare opportunity to see it at work. Life affirming and inspiring, this is at the same time a journey that navigates through the loneliness, heartbreak and intensity of Amrita’s approach to life.
Intimate, forceful and raw, Borderline is the catharsis we all need
Intrigue:
BPD (Borderline personality disorder) is a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by unstable relationships with other people. Shabri Prasad Singh’s “Borderline” is much to talk about this instability of a person through a protagonist Amrita’s jaunt of abandonment, interpersonal relationships, identity disturbance, self-damaging impulsion, suicidal behavior, emptiness, dissatisfaction, anger and paranoid ideation (not to spoil the plot – detailed explanation is given during the book journey).
To start with the book cover Picture of a woman with dual face as the title throws an hint on how she suffers from the disorder. Author has been very successful in explaining the experiences of Amrita (Father’s death, mother’s remarriage, loneliness, heartbreaks, love,betrayal, relation, fear, failure, struggle and promiscuity).Author has tactfully brought the name “Shabri” in the protagonist Amrita and her father conversation on favorite mythological characters in Ramayana.
The author was profound in explaining most of her real life incidents through Amrita which is heart touching, rich vocabulary, simple narration, vivid flow of words and an emotional touch highlights the plot.
My Review:
Overall I rate “Borderline – Shabri Prasad Singh” a 4/5 with a predictive and interesting book cover, simple English and perfect language command, I am sure every reader would have related to these psychological disorder problems with their closed ones or acquaintances, this book conveys a strong message how to over come the life battles to lead a happy life. Special mention to the poems that every chapter starts with, which sets the expectations of the readers high and a good way of keeping them engaged
Caution: This book is not for casual readers as it needs a bit of concentration with less distractions in the interest of grabbing every emotions out of it and to think from the author’s perspective unconventionally.
Regards
Kiran K Adharapuram
