I had received 3 books of Peter Swanson and started with the “Kind worth killing”. I couldn’t bring myself to complete the book in one sitting for it was way too dark. But the moment I stepped into the zone of the second part of the book, it all went in supersonic speed to a finish. With so many twists and turns, that story would’ve made a rollercoaster proud. Egged on by that belief decided to try his other books and started off with the one titled in the most distinctive manner of any book I had ever read – Girl with a clock for a heart. As usual, I spied for some reviews about the book before starting and most of the reviewers had mentioned a striking similarity with “Gone girl” novel but praised this one to be several notches better. Compared to the first book, this being somewhat smaller, I decided to go for it. The prologue, itself gave quite a heads up that, this author uses murder as icebreaker premise!!
The story revolves around the titular “girl” who goes by as many names as all the spies in the world and how she manipulates her college sweetheart, in what appears to be a one sided love story. She springs up on him all of a sudden and asks for a favor to return the money that she had stolen from her current ex-boyfriend/old man, who she claims has sent a bouncer on her trail to collect the money back. The sonagiri boyfriend makes the trip on her behalf only to find that the bouncer guy was not from the ex-boyfriend. She again tricks him and leaves him after a steamy night, only for the police to visit him, questioning about the death of the ex-boyfriend, whom he met the previous day. As the story goes back and forth we get to know that, this girl has done a “3 Idiots” Aamirkhan on her college and had been an impostor all her life. The sonagiri boyfriend has been accustomed to the ritual of falling for her and getting beaten for her all throughout.
The story might go in concentric circles which looks like intersecting and the characterization is so top notch that it has the hypnotic effect on the readers. You never realize when you got sucked into the story of the sonagiri boyfriend, who for some reason is obsessed with this girl. What is her real name, you would never know. What are her true motives, wonder if she herself will know. But like Hutch dog, this guy follows her everywhere and gets duly beaten. Every time he thinks he has cracked a clue about her, he ends up getting beaten to a pulp and when he almost makes up his mind to go away from her, magically she gets linked with him again. She goes on from being an imposter to murder suspect to robbery to be a murder suspect again. But the sonagiri keeps believing that she may be a victim in this elaborate game of deceit all the while pining for her. Love does makes one stupid, but this is downright, border level insane kind of lust filled love. When he confronts her for the first time, with her telling him her version of why she faked her profile, when he confronts her again about her leaving him and her response which convinces him, every time she lets him have a peek at what he wants to hear about her as the truth and makes him fall for her bait every single time. The climax was pakka cinematic, which while reading, you can even hear BGM playing frantic yet taut, reaching into a crescendo. Atleast, that’s what I thought was the ending and was wondering, why the story is dragging onto so many more pages. But there comes the biggest twist of them all. The actual ending takes place quite some pages from the incidents on the sea and finally gives some clues on the happenings. Though most of them are open ended, it doesn’t leave any doubt on who is the villain. As the story concludes, the result is left for the readers to make, did he become an accomplice? Did he found her? What would/did he do after finding her? The questions may not be in that order. But they are questions left hanging, nevertheless.
Gils verdict – more than “The girl with clock for a heart”, it could very well be “The guy with muck for mind”. Very rarely I’ve come across stories where the antagonist is a lady and out and out negative. After the success of “Gone girl” this seems to be the trend I guess. For all those twists, story going back and forth in flashback and present, you still end up feeling sorry for the sonagiri boyfriend, for as much as him, you would want his love to succeed and the villi turn a good leaf in the end. More than the other book, this one I feel would make a blockbuster movie script, across all languages. The mystique around the girl with clock for a heart, would make you want to know more and more about her. But I am pretty sure, grasping wind would be easier compared to that.
The story revolves around the titular “girl” who goes by as many names as all the spies in the world and how she manipulates her college sweetheart, in what appears to be a one sided love story. She springs up on him all of a sudden and asks for a favor to return the money that she had stolen from her current ex-boyfriend/old man, who she claims has sent a bouncer on her trail to collect the money back. The sonagiri boyfriend makes the trip on her behalf only to find that the bouncer guy was not from the ex-boyfriend. She again tricks him and leaves him after a steamy night, only for the police to visit him, questioning about the death of the ex-boyfriend, whom he met the previous day. As the story goes back and forth we get to know that, this girl has done a “3 Idiots” Aamirkhan on her college and had been an impostor all her life. The sonagiri boyfriend has been accustomed to the ritual of falling for her and getting beaten for her all throughout.
The story might go in concentric circles which looks like intersecting and the characterization is so top notch that it has the hypnotic effect on the readers. You never realize when you got sucked into the story of the sonagiri boyfriend, who for some reason is obsessed with this girl. What is her real name, you would never know. What are her true motives, wonder if she herself will know. But like Hutch dog, this guy follows her everywhere and gets duly beaten. Every time he thinks he has cracked a clue about her, he ends up getting beaten to a pulp and when he almost makes up his mind to go away from her, magically she gets linked with him again. She goes on from being an imposter to murder suspect to robbery to be a murder suspect again. But the sonagiri keeps believing that she may be a victim in this elaborate game of deceit all the while pining for her. Love does makes one stupid, but this is downright, border level insane kind of lust filled love. When he confronts her for the first time, with her telling him her version of why she faked her profile, when he confronts her again about her leaving him and her response which convinces him, every time she lets him have a peek at what he wants to hear about her as the truth and makes him fall for her bait every single time. The climax was pakka cinematic, which while reading, you can even hear BGM playing frantic yet taut, reaching into a crescendo. Atleast, that’s what I thought was the ending and was wondering, why the story is dragging onto so many more pages. But there comes the biggest twist of them all. The actual ending takes place quite some pages from the incidents on the sea and finally gives some clues on the happenings. Though most of them are open ended, it doesn’t leave any doubt on who is the villain. As the story concludes, the result is left for the readers to make, did he become an accomplice? Did he found her? What would/did he do after finding her? The questions may not be in that order. But they are questions left hanging, nevertheless.
Gils verdict – more than “The girl with clock for a heart”, it could very well be “The guy with muck for mind”. Very rarely I’ve come across stories where the antagonist is a lady and out and out negative. After the success of “Gone girl” this seems to be the trend I guess. For all those twists, story going back and forth in flashback and present, you still end up feeling sorry for the sonagiri boyfriend, for as much as him, you would want his love to succeed and the villi turn a good leaf in the end. More than the other book, this one I feel would make a blockbuster movie script, across all languages. The mystique around the girl with clock for a heart, would make you want to know more and more about her. But I am pretty sure, grasping wind would be easier compared to that.
Comments
Actress yaaru ?
Nayanthara yaaru ?? !!