KOCHI: More often than not, we are faced with unexpected situations in life. Some are caught so off guard that they are clueless about how to navigate the circumstances and end up paying a heavy price. Kannur native Vineeth Thunoli’s debut crime thriller novel ‘The Ornate Clock’ introduces the readers to Jaison, a naive man whose life turns upside down in a matter of seconds.
Jaison is a humble and upright person who desires to lead a simple life with his wife and two children. He is shocked when he learns his wife plans to divorce him. He refuses to separate. The next day Jaison is accompanied by a stranger while walking from office to home. What follows are macabre incidents and things only get more complicated as Jaison tries to wriggle out of the situations.
“Jaison is a person who doesn’t know the trade of life. Though he runs a firm, he doesn’t know how to make his business successful. Situations demand us to behave in strange ways and this happens for him too,” says Vineeth. The plot of the novel was in the author’s mind for a long time. “I finished writing another story and gave it to my brother for editing. That’s when I started with this narrative. My focus was to explore the extent to which a person can go to escape from an unexpected trap he gets into,” adds Vineeth.
Vineeth developed a passion for storytelling from his grandmother. “During my childhood, she used to narrate stories to all her grandchildren. The stories were from her life and of our great grandfather. She used to be so involved that I could visualise everything while she narrated,” says Vineeth who completed his education in Dubai and the UK. He adds that his brother, wife, and parents have played a big part in helping release his debut novel.
The book has garnered an overwhelmingly positive response since its release. “Reviews are great on Amazon. Many messaged me saying that the novel is so gripping that they weren’t able to put it down after reading the initial pages. This is very encouraging for a debut writer.” The book is published by Booksthakam and is on sale in countries like the US, UK, Australia, Japan, and Brazil.
The novel is set in Vineeth’s hometown Kannur “The locations are so familiar that I could easily place the story.” He has already started the work on his next novel which will also be a crime thriller. “I wish to release the new novel this year. Some have shown interest in making ‘The Ornate Clock’ into a movie.”