Book Review: Graffitti (Joanie Pariera)

A commissioned review:


Flipping the very first chapter of “Graffitti’ over to the second had promised one thing loud and clear: that, this was not going to be just another book I read.  The scene description was abstract and yet impeccable, and the set-up had set you up for a journey which was going to be wonderful, and at the same time, witty. On one there was a fatal accident and a lone survivor waiting to hit the psychiatrist’s chamber and on the very next, there a girl - dropped jaw - watching her ex in a lip-lock with his current ‘boyfriend’ to ‘show and tell’ how he has managed to come out of the closet. The stories indeed make for quite a ride.

The narration style is pretty unique and experimental. It switches and swaps, at times even whimsically, just as the reader had finally started to settle in for the tone and the person. The novel takes you on a ride, which travels across cities of the world and across time zones. But you won’t be complaining.

It isn’t an easy read, mind you. A few times through the early part of it, I had to toggle to and fro trying to catch up with the names, places and things. It is complex, in both structure and flow. And then, you’ve to keep at it. By the time you’ve read up a few chapters, you’d come to agree that you’ve hardly read anything, ever, like that before. Now, that is a tall task that the author accomplishes here, and with elan.

All in all, it was a read totally worth the time. It has a thing or two to teach to someone who wants to write, too. It is enriching to experience such out of box writing styles. I look forward to the author’s next.