Rating: 4.7/5
Okay, let’s admit, we all as readers, have at least once in our lives, wanted to be that character, around whom the book takes place and develops. And let me be very clear, am talking about ‘relating’ to a character but ‘being’ that character. Though, it never crosses our mind that what if that version of us is completely twisted or for that matter, even if not twisted, then the possibility of interpretation gap from the side of the writer always exists.
However, how wrong it can go, we can never experience until we realize how messed up things can be. Sticking to the same outline, Disclaimer is exactly that book which you would want as that one persuading evidence as to why you should never want to be that person around whom the plot is being evolved. Keeping aside the speculative scenarios and coming back to the book, the very reason for giving this piece of work such tremendous rating is for the mere reason that it doesn’t let you capable of thinking for at least sometime after you read it.
The nuances of the story are so well structured that it leaves the minds of the readers numb for a second. However, there is always room for imagination and a lot of ‘what if and how and why’ questions, the book pretty much covers the most of them and doesn’t fail to stun you in ways that the suspense build up is so captivating that even though that it’s mostly sure that you’ll be proved wrong in any speculations you make, you won’t be disappointed by the final outcome. The very structure of the artwork that Knight has so beautifully created, forces you to turn over and over to keep reading until you find that one thing you missed and then you go back to see that it was in front of you the whole time. Though Knight has used the liberty of differentiative and distinct human interpretations, she needs to be complimented on the way she has intelligently used it to hook the readers, without falling trap to missing out to acknowledge the dead-end points, which authors in such psychological thrillers often do.
The idea of using death and dark secrets to which stakeholder was death itself is something that is pretty new and as it provides a lot of scope, which Knight exploited so adroitly that the reader wouldn’t want to even blink an eye until the suspense is broken. The only loop that one can face while reader is that around the middle of the book when the plot is developing and when the climax is just few chapters away, the plot becomes complicated to comprehend, which might render the reader restless a bit. However, the incompleteness of the facts fed is just enough to nudge the reader to continue.
Out of millions of psychological thrillers out there, this one’s different cause it feeds on the biggest insecurities of human psyche i.e., our deepest secrets coming to light in twisted ways. That might be one of the very reasons that this piece is a must read, even if it might look like too much for beginners who intend to just explore this genre for a start. The sub components and parallel stories and timeline difference that runs through the plot might be a bit too much for new readers to process. However, for readers who get high suffocating plots and black words which are torturous but seem yet so comforting, this shall be that one pick which you surely won’t regret in a thousand lives.
The intelligent use of timeline and the way that Knight has tried to increase the complexity by taking the freedom of interpretation from a character’s side who isn’t capable of doing it for him/ herself, surely adds an edge to the way that the whole case of the story evolves. The only gap that might bother someone reading with an analytical perspective is that some chapters’ placing might seem out of the place which in turn reduces its impact on the overall story. Though these small inefficiencies can be overruled on the grounds of brilliancy and creativity in the lot considering that the idea of this particular work is pretty different from many others which are out there. the best part is that there isn’t any character which by the means of being an important character, is designed in a way that it should be likeable. The neutrality and equal suspense that the plot moves with, provides freedom to the reader to not unconsciously term any character as good or but to explore vivid parts of its personality without being personally bias to the unsaid positive or negative tilt which the writer gives to it.
Hence in all, if you are seeking a book that you want to read holding flashlight under your blanket, after your lights out time, then Disclaimer shall surely be on that list. Trust me, it won’t disappoint you even to slightest of bit. All in all, if you are searching for a book that you wouldn’t mind to ponder upon for weeks to come, then you’ve got a perfect piece right here, it just asks you to be comfortable being uncomfortable reading such excruciatingly intelligent yet a bit breathless work which somehow entangles you into wondering. Though, all of that will be worth, that’s pretty much for sure. -
Well written. I am gonna read it ,soon!