Maria’s room is written by Shreekumar Varma , who happen to be a noted author , playwright , newspaper columnist and poet.
This book I got last year and was planning to read from long time . Finally was able to finish it few days book and I am glad I did it. Maria’s room offers you a heady concoction of goa’s carelessness , the expectancy of monsoon mixed with the impatience of unrequited love . The opening of the book is spectacular and I would rate five stars to the way goa has been captured in monsoon .
The melancholics of local life , the pregnant skies and the rolling waves mixed with the deluge of travelers who want to bask in the glory of I-care-damn attitude provides an apt background for the love story of Maria and Marcel. The protagonist Raja Prasad , an author from Chennai trying to run from his father and maybe from himself finds refuge in one of the hotels in Goa . Later when he shifts to Maria’s guesthouse , he meets Lorna and falls in love with him . As the book progresses you realize the wretchedness love offers . The expectancy of monsoon and the swelling oceans complements the fidgetiness of tormented lovers. The two love stories happening at two different points of time differ only in their treatment . Does Raja Prasad can conquer his inner demons ? What happened to Maria and Marcel ? Why the book is called Maria’s Room ?
The book captures the beauty of goa , the sights , smells of the rain. The peculiar habits which people have , Raja Prasad’s dislike for the non vegetarian food and the intoxication which the monsoon y goa offers . The protagonist blends effortlessly in the carefree ambiance of Feni and music but through peeps the secrets of past keep haunting the present . Does the shadows of past reflect on the present too ?
The vivid poetry of Goa’s languidness and the turbulence of rains complements the mysticism of man’s desires and love . My only lament was that writer also seems to loose his track of plot while wandering in the poetry of Goa just like a boy left wondering in the toy shop ? Was this a planned diversion , a planned wandering like a besotted tourist who looses his track of time ? I felt that the plot of the book was bit hurried and the author would have spent more time in building the story .But for the love of Goa and the excellent narrative which book offers its readers , i will rate this book 4 out of 5 stars . The poignancy of the forlorn love story seeps into the past and present and makes it a Must Read.
A Creative Bay 