Pentacles by Sabarna Roy

Be not fooled by the slim exterior of this book. Within it lies a rich treasure of a descriptively emotional story and a beautiful bunch of poems. Within the bundle of the story, ‘New Life’ lies a plethora of emotions that plague the mind, body and soul of the protagonist, Kingshuk (King for short). He is deeply traumatized by the loss of his mother – not an ordinary loss because the mother had left the family to pursue the meaning of life elsewhere.

Young King is unable to come to terms with this abandoning, caught as he is in the web of orthodox Indian living which demands sacrifices from a married woman however dissatisfied or unhappy she may be in her family life. Kingshuk carries this trauma throughout his life, its shadow reflecting on his work and in his relationships. He is always lonely however successful he may be.

“Loneliness is like smoke. It starts from a definite point and ends up elsewhere, indefinitely. It eats up the soul, actually chews it to miniscule shreds, from inside and out.”

The protagonist longs for normal companionship which the author very beautiful describes as a shawl around you, which you can disrobe at your will. It may be around you and you may still not know it. It protects you from hurt and causing hurt.

In the same way, he describes love as “a rage of wind that uproots you from the present, makes your past irrelevant to you and obliterates the significance of a future. Love is happy death.”

The book, Pentacles traverses over all kinds of territory, crossing all borders (legal or not) giving a vast insight into human behavior, thoughts and varied emotions.

Does Kingshuk finally acknowledge the pain of his mother’s separation? Does he live life denying himself any close social attachments? The answers lie in the story.

The poems are deeply descriptive and delve into a fantastic imagination of the poet.

are some of the lines amongst several others that caught my eye! Have a great read!

Shail Raghuvanshi (20 Posts)

Am a freelance journalist, editor, professional book reviewer and poet.
Interests lie in reading, writing, music, spirituality and making friends.
Sending out positive vibrations of hope and optimism to the world…..