Book review: A tale of life, death and in-between states in The Arrival

The Arrival, the first book (fiction) by author Dinesh Unnikrishnan makes for an uncomfortable read. Uncomfortable because the narrative prods at human flaws – greed, misplaced ambitions for making life better, the almost never-ending thirst to possess material goods, power over others, wanting more of everything that cushions life only temporarily and so the never-ending race.

As you read, you realise the book is about you, me and anyone who forgets what his/her purpose of life is.

The prologue is captivating. Of a tender plant that has come out of the earth to a new world and how that miracle of birth has a little girl watch it with curious eyes. From then on, the book sucks you in to its myriad tapestry of birth, death, re-birth and the in-between states of being and non-being.

The reader gets tossed into the many bends and sharp curves the story takes and is reminded again and again of what can beset a mind that is unrestrained with the passion of acquiring wealth. When power is the driving force, it is not difficult to trample over others needs and trade wisdom with disastrous consequences.

The theme that Unnikrishnan tackles is a popular refrain in books, films and other media. But the novelty is in how the author has skillfully woven it here, making the protagonists the witness and sentinels of their present and past. There are no homilies. It is karma at play. You reap what you sow.  If you are afraid to stand up to the excesses, then wait for the arrival of the consequences.

The story of The Arrival is something that every one of us is familiar with, albeit our own versions of it. Of a God or a Creator or Virtue, a Devil or Temptation or Vice and how these opposing forces can make or mar every decision we take, not only for us but also to those around us.

Some of the protagonists deliberately engage in perverse acts that wreck others and are visited with ruin themselves. Like scenes from a play, each Act follows another making it impossible to put the book down and eager for the reader to know what turn the plot will take.

In The Arrival, Unnikrishnan uses many metaphors. One of them that stands out is the masks of varying lengths worn by the villagers of the fictional village of Panjavadi that has holes for eyes through which they can see everything around. The masks hide… take a guess?

The book echoes philosophical thoughts and teachings. It employs a stream of consciousness technique that is peppered with seemingly casual statements that often compels the reader to go back and re-read it to understand its significance.

Unnikrishnan makes brilliant use of various elements in nature to represent human emotions. After reading the book, for some time at least, it would be difficult to see clouds, for instance, as just that.

Some of the imagery in The Arrival is fearful and revolting, too. Broken limbs, blood and excreta pervade the narrative. The book has a heavy odour of death and the reader faces this grim reality throughout.

The plot borrows names of its protagonists and some concepts from the Malayalam language, perhaps because that is a terrain the author has an intimate knowledge about. However, these don’t come in the reader’s way of comprehending the stark tale.

The cover of the book, though quaint, is the puzzle that is slowly unravelled from the start through to the end of the book. The plot seems to move at a rapid pace and yet its picturesque descriptions can halt the reader with emotions of fear, terror and what-next.

The downside to the book is that it is riddled with typos.

Yet, The Arrival is a commendable effort by a first-time author with a story as old as Time made potent with magic, astrology, play of light and dark, emotions that hop between sinister and diabolic along with a hint of a smile that Unnikrishnan leaves the readers with to make their choice—to treat the tale either as a tragedy or a comedy.

The Arrival

By Dinesh Unnikrishnan

Lifi Publications

Pages: 209

The author of The Arrival is the Financial Editor at Firstpost.