#IAm16ICanRape is novel written by Kirtida Gautam. It has been very well acclaimed by many readers as it also comes at the time when Rape is at center-stage of discussion in India. There have been many debates about the topic which centered around a lot of frivolous discussion like what women should wear or by what time they should be home etc. The Author has made a good argument about why it is not a 'woman's fault' to get raped.The book has been written to throw light on lapses in Juvenile law & its current tagline is - The War Against Rape Culture.Blurb of the book here :
The book's cause is great & it has been executed well.Having said that the cause of book is great but is the book realistic? I would say,No. Is the book a change agent for society? No. As a reader & reviewer the works has been analysed from fictional perspective only.
Author has set up a Make Believe world of RK-JEE in Banglore which is similar to Kota, hub of IIT coaching. The addition to this setting are Jaguar, Discotheques & Five Star outings along with sprinkle of Bangalore's software world.
In begining the books deal with many of the teenagers who seem to crave for sex every now and then. Though I agree that teenagers are confused and one ought to have proper sex education for them but I as a reader do not believe their lives center around sex.
Shubhangi, the rape victim has been very well crafted. Author portrayed Shubhangi wonderfully. Author has built characters of Gayatri Mrigank, Pihu nicely and they do not seem to be in conflict with the story. Rudransh Kashyap who is Aarush Kashyap's grandfather, to certain extent is not in conflict in story. But later it becomes difficult decipher why a person of Rudransh Kashyap's acumen will donate money to a privately run Rape Crisis Center and even if he does, he would not monitor the same.
The characters I faced trouble with are media person Saurish and Vaishnavi who take up Shubhangi's story. Now for some people even Rape is business and if you ask Saurish & Vaishnavi are those sort of people. It becomes indigestible when these people identify with Shubhangi. There is one character who does not complete journey and he is Tabrez, Shubhangi's friend. It is unfair to him, of all the characters he has closely witnessed Shubhangi's sufferings.
I do not relate to Ananya &Aarush Kashyap. I cannot claim that I know them or I can predict how these characters would behave. They are alien to me.
There are instances where as a reader I am not pulled in, e.g.Author fails to capture grandeur of an event which has been organised in backdrop for Justice of Shubhangi. The symbolic representation of Rudransh Kashyap carrying a 20 kg bag wherever he goes becomes a mockery as he does nothing that reflects he cares for amendment of law. The story decides to take course of Aarush Kashyap's life which as a reader I don't find appealing.
I've completely skipped Psychoanalysis of Rape part to keep health of my brain intact :).
#Iam16 has been excellently edited which makes book readable however there are some lapses towards the end . Not thoroughly unacceptable but its difficult to tell how an error free book found itself in midst of errors in the end.
The writing style very much resembles Chetan Bhagat and Amish Tripathi. It is stark and dry, a style which most Indians might like/prefer to read these days.
Cover seemed cluttered in soft image but in print it stands out. The choice of title has been touted controversial but many people have wanted to pick up the book based on title. The title definitely piques curiosity in readers. Read Out Loud has done an excellent job in printing department. The book is not heavy & looks very pleasant while reading.
Author has set up a Make Believe world of RK-JEE in Banglore which is similar to Kota, hub of IIT coaching. The addition to this setting are Jaguar, Discotheques & Five Star outings along with sprinkle of Bangalore's software world.
In begining the books deal with many of the teenagers who seem to crave for sex every now and then. Though I agree that teenagers are confused and one ought to have proper sex education for them but I as a reader do not believe their lives center around sex.
Shubhangi, the rape victim has been very well crafted. Author portrayed Shubhangi wonderfully. Author has built characters of Gayatri Mrigank, Pihu nicely and they do not seem to be in conflict with the story. Rudransh Kashyap who is Aarush Kashyap's grandfather, to certain extent is not in conflict in story. But later it becomes difficult decipher why a person of Rudransh Kashyap's acumen will donate money to a privately run Rape Crisis Center and even if he does, he would not monitor the same.
The characters I faced trouble with are media person Saurish and Vaishnavi who take up Shubhangi's story. Now for some people even Rape is business and if you ask Saurish & Vaishnavi are those sort of people. It becomes indigestible when these people identify with Shubhangi. There is one character who does not complete journey and he is Tabrez, Shubhangi's friend. It is unfair to him, of all the characters he has closely witnessed Shubhangi's sufferings.
I do not relate to Ananya &Aarush Kashyap. I cannot claim that I know them or I can predict how these characters would behave. They are alien to me.
There are instances where as a reader I am not pulled in, e.g.Author fails to capture grandeur of an event which has been organised in backdrop for Justice of Shubhangi. The symbolic representation of Rudransh Kashyap carrying a 20 kg bag wherever he goes becomes a mockery as he does nothing that reflects he cares for amendment of law. The story decides to take course of Aarush Kashyap's life which as a reader I don't find appealing.
I've completely skipped Psychoanalysis of Rape part to keep health of my brain intact :).
#Iam16 has been excellently edited which makes book readable however there are some lapses towards the end . Not thoroughly unacceptable but its difficult to tell how an error free book found itself in midst of errors in the end.
The writing style very much resembles Chetan Bhagat and Amish Tripathi. It is stark and dry, a style which most Indians might like/prefer to read these days.
Cover seemed cluttered in soft image but in print it stands out. The choice of title has been touted controversial but many people have wanted to pick up the book based on title. The title definitely piques curiosity in readers. Read Out Loud has done an excellent job in printing department. The book is not heavy & looks very pleasant while reading.
Disclaimer: I almost know everyone who was associated with the book. The book was sent by author to me without any charges.
