HYDERABAD : “I started writing the book in 11th grade, but gave up in between for six months because of a negative comment. I started it again and it took me about two and a half years. I never thought of publishing it, I was only writing to upload the chapters on Wattpad,” says 20 years old Ananya Mullapudi from Hyderabad. In her debut novel ‘Masked’ much of the action revolves around mystery, death, a schizophrenic mother and the quest of a 17 year girl to find her brother.
The novel’s central character is Alayzia Blackwell. We meet her as she is released from juvenile jail for something she did not do – murder her brother. When she comes home, she faces distressing factual details about everyone around her. Her mother is diagnosed with Schizophrenia and her dad hasn’t miraculously reappeared after years. She has to fight against her best friend Aaron Grayson who is now a cantankerous blackmailer. Death isn’t something we like to think about, its thoughts fill us with fear and dread. What happens when she has seen death too many times?
People disappear and reappear mysteriously, notes are left and events unfold at a much quicker pace than she expected. We don’t learn further details until late in the novel but we know that because of her wrong steps, trouble awaits her. Savvy readers will question who can be trusted, as nothing not even Alayzia is as she initially seems.
The different point of views structure is a bit jarring at first. However, soon the book finds its pace and the intertwining point of views complement each other in ways a single narrative could not. There is an unfeigned quality to the story, evident in the meticulous scientific research behind the details of symptoms of schizophrenia and effects of drugs.
The author seasons the story with liberal helping of family bonding, love and trivial yet significant every day events. For all the idiosyncrasies of the different characters, it’s likely that many readers will see their own lives reflected in these pages. Masked is an irresistible call to binge reading.