Marriage, especially where a woman is trapped in it has made an
interesting premise for novels world over. The runaway success novel
Eat, Pray, Love had a protagonist struggling to get out of a
stormy marriage. Back home, Shashi Desphande's Sahitya Academy
winning That Long Silence wonderfully charted the less ups and
more downs of an Indian married woman. Pakistani writer Nadya A. R's
Invisible Ties wagers in the
similar waters, albeit unsuccessfully.
This is story of Noor, who hails
from an elite family in Pakistan. The internal disturbances in
Pakistan hit her threshold when a gang of hoodlums ransack her house,
and kidnap Daisy, Noor's mother. Though Daisy returns Noor's life
changes forever. Noor marries Meekal Kalim. Its an arranged marriage
and lands up in Singapore. Her husband and sharp tongued
mother-in-law keep a distance from her. Unfortunately while reading
the novel, I felt all the characters were keeping a distance not only
from each other but also from the readers and were crushed under the
verbose descriptions and insipid dialogues.
So Noor studies Psychotherapy in Singapore and befriends Ella, her
neighbour, who is unwilling to have a child but wants to have one to
save her sinking marriage. Ella introduces Noor to Jake, who is
struggling with his past and needs some counselling.
From the aforesaid premise it is
clear that Invisible Ties
had all the elements of a good novel. But the narrative mars the
novel. The complex language holds back the characters from taking any
shape and make them appear like aliens from another planet
altogether. The result is evident – you don't feel anything for any
of the characters including Noor. This unintended detachment
transforms this novel which otherwise would have been a good novel,
if not best, into a boring trip undertaken to satisfy the
idiosyncrasies of the author.
