Review of Ratnadip Acharya’s book – The Speaking Stone
- Title – The Speaking Stone
- Author – Ratnadip Acharya
- Format – Paperback
- Print length – 296 pages
- Publishers – Aksora Publications [1 edition (12 August 2019) ]
- Price- INR 210/-
Mumbai, December 2016: A young man found an ancient-looking piece of stone with strange images and Sanskrit inscriptions. A quest to know the origin of the stone brought him to the distant part of the country.
Chandannagar, December 2016: A young vivacious historian woman read an old book on a century-old secret story about a little known part of the country. Her curiosity got the better of her as the book disappeared mysteriously before she could complete it. She reached a sleepy quaint state of the country to satiate her curiosity. Eventually they both met and their search began from the city museum to a far-flung rock mountain which revealed a century-old story of a seductive danseuse, her enigmatic lover, a string of her admirers, a painter with a photographic memory, a bird that could speak in many voices, a benevolent king and a gruesome conspiracy. And the most important clue to decode the final secret was with the missing part of “The Speaking Stone” But in the process of unearthing old secrets, their life was also in danger… To know more read…
The Speaking Stone is about two people from different parts of the country who are brought together to solve a mystery. Though both of them come to Tripura for different reasons, their goal becomes one.
They explore the city and the museum and then proceed to a place called Unakoti where the mystery deepens.Or is this the place that is mysterious? What is the connection between the speaking stone and these two people? How is the stone related to Unakoti? Who are the three museum authorities?What is the connection between the king who ruled Tripura in the early 1900’s and Saikat, the protagonist? Answers to all these and more when you read The Speaking Stone
The first thing that I liked about this book is that the story takes places in two different eras. The 1900’s when Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya ruled Tripura and the present day story line where we meet Saikat and Shuvashini. Both the story lines run parallel without letting go of the flow of the story.So one chapter is from 1900 and the next chapter is from the present times! The author has handled this exceptionally well! You can relate to both the story lines as you read them alternatively.
The characters Saikat who is first introduced to us a guy in the bar later turns to a Sherlock Holmes as Shuvashini calls him. Shuvashini who is eager to pursue her doctoral dissertation follows her heart in everything she does and later she accidentally meets Saikat and joins the hunt to solve the mystery of the Speaking Stone.
All the character, ones from the Royal era as well as the present times are well written. The dark shades of the Swami and Indra Kishore sends a shiver through the spine. My heart went out to the extraordinarily beautiful danseuse Parul and her secret lover as they tried to evade Indra’s arrows. The sculptor Dipankar is another character that I appreciated much.
There are some images like the ones of the Speaking stone,the Royal Vault, the entrance to the secret chamber etc that gives us an insight to what it would look like actually.
The other thing that I really liked was how much I got to know about the various places in Tripura. I have never heard or read much about Unakoti, Ujjayanta Palace / Museum. But after reading this book, these two places are on my travel list.
It’s nice to see a fictional story written around the actual facts and places! Kudos to the author for weaving such a beautiful and thrilling story in a place that is less known to the outside world
The suspense builds up as the story proceeds and makes you want to read non stop till the end.
The Speaking Stone is a lovely book filled with mystery and a lot of thrills that one will surely enjoy!
Last but not the least, the title is intriguing and the cover goes with the story.
The only thing that I found a bit off was that Saikat who gets introduced as a person who drinks too much and is seen in bars almost everyday ,suddenly becomes sober and is well versed in History. While Shuvashini who is a History major and is on her way to a Doctoral degree suddenly becomes passive without knowing much about the subject! The author could have given her character a little more credit.
I would give this book 4 / 5 stars.
Yes,go for it!! It’s really worth reading! You not only get to read a thriller / mystery story but also get to more about one of the lesser known states of India.
Ratnadip Acharya is the author of two successful novels, Life is Always Aimless… Unless you love it and Paradise Lost & Regained. He is a columnist for the Speaking Tree in The Times of India. He contributed many write-ups in different collections of Chicken Soup for the Soul.
He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Sophia and son, Akash. He can be contacted via the following channels
Website: www.ratnadipacharya.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheRatnadip
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ratnadip.acharya.5,
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ratnadipacharya
Twitter: www.twitter.com/RatnadipAcharya
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