Review: Sunlight On a Broken Column by Attia Hossain
- shivangi83
- Oct 18, 2021
- 3 min read
“I think Destiny’s purpose is merely to shock us at moments into a state of awareness; those moments are milestones in between which we have to find our own way.”
This is an Indian classic that I had to read for my English class. I’m a slow reader generally but I’m not kidding when I say that I read this book, I had to pull an all-nighter and read this book till four in the morning.
I. Couldn’t. Put. It. Down.
The story is about a young orphan Muslim girl who lives with her conservative joint family with her uncles and aunties. The plot is set around the time of Indian national movements and independence, so it kind of sets an overall theme of independence not just for India as a county but also for our main protagonist, Laila and the women around her from all the orthodox thinking that holds them back from everything they can achieve.
As a reader, you literally watch Laila and everyone grow and change into a whole new person. In literature, this kind of work is called as Bildungsroman, one which calls for an overall development of the character throughout the novel, and isn’t it the best? To watch your favourite character grow into an amazing person, reformed and independent of their choices.
Like I said, the theme independence stretches in all aspects as you can imagine. From India being a colony of Britain to a free country, from Laila not believing in romance to having one, from the women in the story feeling helpless and tied up because of patriarchy to finally tasting the first taste of modernity and freedom as education and feminist movements pave their way. The thing that I liked the most was that none of these very different aspects took a toll and overshadowed the other. In fact, each of these elements complimented each other pretty well.
Another thing that I loved about this book is that I could actually find why would this book be in our curriculum to be studied. It’s the kind of book that actually makes you think and care about politics of India, and I could imagine myself actually debating in class about the various issues of women, of Muslims and Hindus and of different classes that this book throws light on. It’s a shame there was a pandemic around and all the classes were shut down and we couldn’t discuss it in class. But it’s okay, I wouldn’t have stood up in class anyway because I have crippling anxiety, but hey, a girl can ✨ dream ✨
Also the characters were well rounded and very well written. Each one of them played a significant role in the romance, the drama and the historical part of the book. There weren’t any filler scenes or comic relief characters that a lot of other books tend to have. Everything was pretty smooth without them.
The pacing never slowed down. Did I mention it took me just four hours to finish this? I was on my toes the whole time, to crane my neck and see what’s gonna happen next and then after that and then after that…
It’s the kind of story that I know will please many. It’s the kind that I know I will never get bored of, I know I’ll keep reading this again and again and learn something new each time. If you’re looking for a book that is historical, romantic, political, philosophical and humorous all the same, then this is the book for you!
Overall, I guess I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars. Minus a star because everything at the end happened very quickly and the author didn’t make it clear what happened in the very ending. It had one of those open endings where the reader has the liberty to imagine all that can happen to the characters…so yeah, that kind of drove me nuts. The rest was *chef’s kiss*
Thank you for reading. I hope that you love this book as much as I did!
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