About the Book
Title: The Last Song of Dusk
Author: Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Publication Date: 5th September 2024
Format: Paperback (20th Anniversary Edition)
Blurb/Back Cover Copy
After Anuradha and Vardhmaan’s fairytale marriage is interrupted when their young son dies in a tragic accident, they try to rebuild their devasted lives in an old house by the sea. In this history-soaked mansion in 1940s Bombay, the couple is joined by Anuradha’s niece, Nandini, a dazzling young artist with cat’s blood running in her veins. As Nandini daringly takes on Bombay’s art scene, the couple works to save their marriage, eventually discovering that real love, as unpredictable as it is nourishing, is given and received in silence. Witty, perceptive and sad by turns, The Last Song of Dusk has endeared itself to a generation of readers with its wild charm and deep heart.
Review
What appeared to be a realistic literary fiction at first glance, turned out to be a mesmerising fiction with a touch of magical realism and a dash of satire.
For me the best part of The Last Song of Dusk is the description. I was blown away by how Shanghvi described his characters, settings and mental voice. It was a masterclass for me (I have made notes). The vividity of the imagery and the elegance of the verbiage — marvellous. That’s a skill I’d like to hone for my writing career.
Some scenes are absurdly amusing/ amusingly absurd. Some are heartwrenching while some give a hard reality check.
Men were supposed to be brave, he thought. They had to drive cars in maddening rain. They had to wake to dying mothers. Their shoulders would carry biers. Biers bearing their own children. And yet men had no songs: they had only a shield of valour.
Vardhamaan, Page 161
And of silence.
However, Anuradha is too prone to mishaps. That often made me sad and, occasionally, annoyed.
The intimate scenes between Anuradha and Vardhamaan are some of the best I’ve read till date. The first description of Vardhamaan was — oof! — quite steamy.
Unfortunately, the Nandini-Khalil-Libya thrupple did not entice me much. The entire Nandini trope failed to fascinate me. I was deeply rooted in the evolving dynamics of Anuradha and Vardhamaan.
In conclusion, The Last Song of Dusk is a delectable piece of literature that also taught me what I should be in my future writing.
My Rating
4/5 ⭐️
Thank you Harper Collins India and Vivek Tetuja for the gifted copy.
