Centripetal by Rohit Shukla – Book Review

Centripetal is an experimental novel written by young and ambitious author Rohit Shukla. He has tried to create an amalgam of perspectives, narratives, ideas, actions and aftermath in his debut English novel… a novel which reads more like a drama with background music, songs and flashbacks that is narrated by a narrator whom we never get to know. The novel is not too fast, not too lengthy and not too simple to read as well. It has a complex story that has many layers to it and you will get to unfold things only at the end. So, the readers who are clever enough to find out the mysteries even before reaching the conclusion of a story will have a tough time with Centripetal. 

There is a wannabe writer. There is a moonstruck lover. There is a criminal who has a dented past. There is a woman who is loved but cannot find a better way to be with his lover. There are many minor-major characters who appear on the pages and play their part before vanishing in the background. Rohit Shukla, the novelist, has given special attention to developing a few characters and a mystery that walks along with the characters’ growth. 

The best part in the writing of Rohit Shukla is that he can turn any event into a scenario that tells many other tales rather than only telling the exact descriptions of the activities being carried by the characters on the relative pages. You will find many interesting ideas shared by the narrator (the author) in the course of his or her progress in the story. 

The psychological adventures of different characters add new colours to the novel and it goes on further deepening the contours of fiction by employing various means of narrative and discourse. You will keep encountering new truths, new lies and new secrets ‘buried deep’ into the ground. And it is only towards the end that readers get to uncover the shrouds from the secrets. 

On the flip side, the novel might seem boring because of too many details and an astray plot that takes the readers to strange places instead of giving them something rock-solid to follow. Nevertheless, somehow, the novel keeps progressing and meets its end but is not conclusive enough for the readers to understand things in the first go. It might need a re-reading in order to confirm the connection between the guy in the hospital and the characters outside. 

Anyway, if you are up for something that keeps you awake and gives you too much to think, you can always get a copy from Amazon. Click the link below to get one today: 

Buy the novel now – click here to get a copy

Review by Alka for The Last Critic