BENGALURU: Bhaskar Ghose’s second novel, Parricide, is the story of a young man, Ravi Kumar, whose life is ruled by a deep-seated hatred for his abusive father. Now a successful copywriter at an advertising agency, he hasn’t seen his father in years since he walked out of the house for the final time, after a particularly nasty incident.
Sure that he had put that part of his life behind him and that he would never return to his father’s home, he also remembers how his father had made it quite clear he wasn’t welcome back even if he were so inclined. So it comes as quite a shock to the young man when his dying father asks for his presence at his bedside. Still driven by his hatred, Ravi goes, if only for the satisfaction of watching the old man die.
In the aftermath, however, Ravi is faced with an emotional vacuum he cannot explain. A new bit of information makes him question everything he’s based his beliefs on. Parricide tells the story of how, with the help of a few close friends, Ravi slowly learns to overcome his hatred and bitterness towards his father and his past before it becomes his undoing.
The novel is beautifully written, with great sensitivity towards the character’s predicament, without being indulgent or over dramatic.The language is unostentatious and flows cleanly without drawing too much attention to itself, giving you the space to sink into the story and not get distracted by excessively flashy flourishes. Ghose’s writing is very gentle and compassionate towards his characters and he is able to step into the shoes of a man far younger and less wise than himself, and portray his dilemmas realistically, without either lenience or judgement.
The characters are all well-rounded and believable; each character, no matter how small their role, has a distinctive personality.
The main character, Ravi, is likeable, and relatable; yet he is clearly a flawed and troubled person. The other characters are seen through the filter of Ravi’s personal biases, and develop, often from two-dimensional black-and-white figures, to properly rounded complex characters, as Ravi changes and learns to see them differently. This character growth and change in perspectives is handled slowly and patiently by the author, without resorting to the clichéd convenience of sudden epiphanies that instantly revolutionise the way the characters think. Instead, Ghose allows Ravi a gentle learning curve as he slowly grows more mature, sometimes regressing a little or resisting new information for fear of needing to shift his world view.
While the book does revolve around themes of hatred, abuse, and psychological pain, these are dealt with in a very sensitive manner that does not overwhelm the reader.
Ghose also recognises the need to not dwell on these darker moments, resulting in the novel being very light and easy to read, filled with uplifting subplots and gentle humour that offsets the darkness very pleasantly and makes the reading experience extremely enjoyable.