My Review of Heart on a Platter
Summary
The book “Heart Platter” by Eby Thachil is a contemporary fiction novel that explores the consequences of our life decisions. Set in Kerala, Ooty, and Dubai, the story follows the intertwined destinies of two women, Malini and Betty, as they navigate love, ambition, and the complexities of modern family life. The book delves into relatable themes of love, loss, and the delicate balance between societal expectations and personal desires.
Our life is a sum of all the decisions we make. Some we get a chance to change, most of them are for life. What’s left eventually are the repercussions of all those decisions that we wear on our sleeve, either with pain or with pride. Eby Thachil’s debut novel ‘Heart on a Platter’ is epitome of this particular fact – that we, as humans know but hardly acknowledge.
With luscious prose and sensitive matters of life at its core, ‘Heart on a Platter’ is a tale of people with connected destinies; destinies that are linked by decisions but not fate, showing us how actions can lead to irreversible outcomes. This is the story of two women, Malini and Betty, who are resilient, persistent, and unyielding when it comes to their heart’s desires and how they would resort to any means to fulfill them.
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Malini is desperate for a baby with her husband Pradeep and enlists at a clinic in Ooty to bear a child by supported means. Soon she is an inseparable part of the doctor’s family and life. Fast forward to many years later when Dr. Felix visits Dubai to meet Malini and her daughter and uncovers an unexpected truth. Betty is looking for someone who can snatch her crazy, ambitious, forlorn heart and make it their own. Roy, a doctor at Dr. Felix’s medical institute seems to echo her thoughts and the connection is instant. Betty however, discovers a truth about Dr. Roy and now has to revisit her well-laid plans for her future with him. Both these plots run parallelly and seamlessly with a bunch of side characters supporting Malini and Betty’s individual cause.
The book’s writing and pace keeps readers engaged with occasional albeit predictable twists. In the backdrop of the uber beautiful landscapes of Kerala, Thachil paints their different worlds with utmost flair and finesse where readers will feel their plights and pleasures their own. While my heart went out to Malini, Betty was not too far leaving a mark on my mind. The characters and their inner turmoil are relatable as these are prevailing issues within modern families. Take for instance, Malini’s mother-in-law. The old professor is stereotypical of what in-laws are like in most cases.
Readers will find the story common for the plots are rooted in contemporary urban lives and their problems being typically real-time. But what makes the prose stand apart is how it captures sensitive emotions and ruthless ambitions in a string of dialogues that tickle the reader’s senses. The story is set in Kerala, moves to Ooty, and then Dubai. Having visited all these places, these parts were ecstatic moments for me as I could picturize the exact locations in my head while soaking into the prose.
‘Heart on a Platter’ focuses on the importance of love, loss, grief, separation, and other aftermaths of human relationships forged or broken. Everyone harbors a secret that has the potential to make or break lives and in the case of both our protagonists, these secrets rear their heads and threaten many a lives, quite unforgivingly. Sharp, witty, and overwhelming, the story tends to caress and capture the hearts of its readers with its subtle tones of realism, idealism, and fanaticism.
Beyond these universal themes, the book also highlights societal expectations, individual choices, and personal ambitions that weigh heavy on one’s psyche at any stage of life, and there really is a thin line between being just and being happy; one can’t really have the cake and eat it too. Life’s just not that simple! Read this book that makes you feel like watching a thrilling family drama on a Friday night!
P.S.: I received a review copy from the author, but the review remains unbiased.
Have you read ‘Heart on a Platter’? What did you think?
