Book Review: The tree with a thousand apples by Sanchit Gupta

*Publisher: Niyogi books *ISBN: 978-93-85285-51-6 *Genre: Fiction *Cover: Hardback *No of Pages: 279 *Price: 350 Rating: 5/5

My View:

We have got our own Khaled Hosseini as Sanchit gupta, hats of to this excellent work. I am really happy that I have read this wonderful book, if you have not read this book about Kashmir than you have missed a good literature.

Kashmir is a sensitive issue right from independence of 1947; whenever Kashmir is said the first thing that came to our mind is mountains, valleys, beautiful landscapes, heaven of India and terrorist. Recently I have read an article on how Lord Mountbatten with her wife Edwina Mountbatten changed the decision and life of Kashmir’s by forcing Nehru to decide the fate under UN Security Council.

Now about his book, this is a story of three close friends Deewan Bhat, Bilal and Safeena, how their life changes after 1990 riots in Kashmir. The journey from childhood to the adolescent of three friends and how Kashmir conflicts affect their life is portrayed by the author, I don’t want to reveal the plot, the blurb itself says much.

The writing style of author is too lucrative; he has conveyed the message in very simple way, also the life and culture of Kashmiri Muslims and Pundits is perfectly articulated by the author. In the book author has highlighted many such events where it show that army is misusing their power, which is a message to the government. The book has everything in it love, redemption, pain, revenge, loyalty of friends, etc.   

Nice sentence from the back cover of the book “If a criminal was once a saint and a saint was once a criminal, then who is the criminal and who is the saint?” I liked the entire episode when Ravi was gambling with his friend and got three aces but losses his life against terrorist in a bomb blast.

Poetry, character buildup and the entire plot is the best ingredients and it’s a plus point for this book, the book has lots of interesting twists and turns which makes un-put-down-able.

This is one of the best book I have read in 2017, I highly recommend this excellent novel to those who wants to know about Kashmir, life of Kashmiri’s youth and true situation over their.

**I received a copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review**

Blurb:

Inspired by true events, this riveting narrative traces the lives of Safeena Malik, Deewan Bhat and Bilal Ahanagar, three childhood friends who grow up in an atmosphere of peace and amity in Srinagar, Kashmir, until the night of 20 January 1990 changes it all.

While Deewan is forced to flee from his home, Safeena’s mother becomes ‘collateral damage’ and Bilal has to embrace a wretched life of poverty and fear. The place they called paradise becomes a battleground and their friendship struggles when fate forces them to chose sides against their will.

Twenty years later destiny brings them to a corssroads again, when they no longer know what is right and what is wrong. While both compassion and injustice have the power to transform lives, will the three friends now choose to become sinful criminals or pacifist saints?

The Tree with a Thousand Apples is a universal story of cultures, belongingness, revenge and atonement. The stylized layered format, fast-paced narration and suspenseful storytelling makes for a powerful, gripping read.