History, Tragedy and Strength – ‘An Isolated Incident’ by Soniah Kamal is a blend of drama, emotions and a journey of courage. The story moves in a classic Bollywood style with predictable twists and turns and a yet more predictable end. However, the narration and the description of characters is spot on.
The novel starts in the year 1996 and juggles to and fro between and countries as well. Written in third perspective, the story revolves around Zari Zoon, a young Kashmiri girl whose life takes a dramatic change amongst the ongoing Kashmir violence. Her fate takes a sharp turn and she compulsively migrates to the USA to stay with the Nabis – her distant relatives. It is a journey of yearning, haunting memories, tested beliefs and love which overcomes all.
The beginning of the book was very interesting and I got hooked onto it immediately. I got involved in Zari, the Kashmir Valley and the nitty-gritty of things that a normal teenager goes through. I empathized with her and even felt the heart-wrenching emotions rush through my body when Zari is going through the toughest moments of her life. Then the book loses its touch in the intermediate chapters. It again takes an interesting turn but it becomes awfully predictable till the end. The structure of language was very crisp, but the long narratives and extreme detailing lose the reader’s interest somewhere in the middle. Overall, it is a good read and the book has the power to take you through a mélange of emotions.
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