Title: The Girl Who Knew Too Much
Author: Vikrant Khanna
Published: 2017
ISBN No: 978-0-14-343994-3
Pages: 214
Price: 175
Publisher: Penguin Books
A boy of indeterminate age sees a girl. The said boy talks to the girl and tells her a story of another boy meeting some other girl. The first boy turns out to be ‘out of this world’. Thus begins a very convoluted retelling of an ‘epic love story’.
Vikrant Khanna’s book promises to be a romantic thriller with elements of paranormal and Indian mythology. What it turns out to be is a disappointment. What begins as an Indian love story quickly converts into a paranormal, thriller, then moves on to become a meandering, stilted parable on faith and spirituality.
At the end of the book, a distinct feeling of ‘waste of time’ comes to mind — all because there is no end to the story. Not even a cliffhanger. The Author’s Note does little to help assuage this feeling of waste. Then there is the issue of the title itself. ‘The Girl Who Knew Too Much’ suggests to be a crime, or psychological thriller. This one is neither.
The book cover blurb is misleading, too. It is might be ‘darkly suspenseful’ but it is not a romance mystery. Given that there is romance, there are also several elements within the romance itself to completely negate it. One of the characters is simply too good to be true, even in fiction. Then there is the whole forced teen love drama — bunking school to meet boyfriend, teenage girl who is only interested in current ‘the boy’, neighbourhood boy who is a borderline stalker while the said boyfriend is encouraging him to ‘hang out with his girl’.
However, the book is not without some redeeming qualities. The novel opens with an encouraging set up: A 12-year-old girl is seen crying in a somewhat-deserted corner of a public park in Delhi. The narration is a first-person account, so it adds to the drama and thrill. The book loses momentum as the narrator jumps chronology in his story-telling, which can be overlooked if there is enough curiosity.
On his Facebook page, author Vikrant Khanna, in a March 19 post, had asked about the general public’s expectation from the book; whether they would find “lots of romance”, “mystery” or “fantasy/supernatural elements”. He promises all three. I would agree to a degree. There is mystery, and there are elements of fantasy and the supernatural, even romance. What the book lacks, however, is the quality of all three.
The 12-year-old girl sitting and quietly sobbing in the park is named Akshara: She is mourning the loss of her mother. Harvinder aka Harry walks up to her and strikes up a conversation, during which he starts the story of his love for Sahiba Sethi. Now the concept of the book is unique and engaging enough, but the manner in which it was handled — a bit too flippant and overly dramatic — discourages from getting emotionally involved.
It could have been more interesting if the writer’s questioning about spirituality and belief could have held more strength, if the God in the book had had more page presence instead of just a throwaway comment about Him, “That’s so weird. Up here that’s the only one!”
The narrator tries too much to sound ‘cool’ by not just calling Yamaraj, the God of Death, ‘bro’ and his trusted assistant ‘dude’, he becomes instant friends with them. Also the unreality of some of the situations in the book has you wondering whether to just abandon the book midway. The writing is simple and flowing but the book overall suffers from some subpar editing. Especially towards then end when within paragraphs, a psychiatrist changes name without any explanation.
Then there is the end itself, which seems a bit too abrupt and leaves you wanting for more, as it is not a cliffhanger, but seems like there are pages and chapters missing. Overall, although it is a light and quick read, it could have been more enjoyable had there been more care taken about some of the execution in writing and editing.
