19 Nov Book Review – The Woman Who Saw the Future

What if you could see the future? What if you really could predict events and changed the course of destiny?

Yes, I want you to imagine being that person and how it would change you or the people around you.

Would you be able to handle the immense responsibility and power that came with this unique ability? What if the premonitions weren’t just an unshakeable, inexplicable feeling of dread that you couldn’t do anything about but instead a clear vision where you could see the future events unfold and then help prevent them? Can it be called the ‘future’ then, seeing as how you’ve already altered its course? How would it affect the people around you?

Needless to say, when I got to know about The Woman Who Saw The Future, I was intrigued.

Is it a privilege to be able to predict the future especially if it can result in saving lives? Or is it a burden that would weigh one down especially when you foresee some events and not others?

These are not just questions but realities that Sapna Vaid – the protagonist in Readomania’s latest release, The Woman Who Saw The Future by Amit Sharma (and edited by Indrani Ganguly) – lives through.

Blurb:-

Sapna Vaid has lived with a unique power for a decade; a power that turned her from a timid, wide-eyed, college-going girl into the most influential and powerful Goddess on Earth. Sapna can see the future and saves thousands of people around the world every year through her record-breaking, popular show ‘Lucky People’. The show had given Sapna’s life a meaning and gives her the courage to sleep every night, where death and blood await her in her dreams. Even though the world is at her feet, the power costs Sapna her personal life. Broken relationships and separation from her son bring her unbearable pain. Her parents and the thousands of prayers that come her way every year are her only solace, her only reason to live. When a blinding hatred leads to a desperate act of revenge, a single misuse of her great power triggers a reversal of her fortunes. Sapna begins to lose her ability to see the future.

While the fascinating idea of being able to predict the future is centuries old, there is no evidence to support that anyone has been able to predict or prevent calamities before they actually happened. (Nostradamus’s predictions have always been ‘forcefully’ associated with events after their occurrence, and hence, cannot be counted as having been able to prevent any specific untoward incidents.)

Sure, there have been books that have, as part of the fictional stories they narrate, ‘predicted’ events (Tom Clancy’s Debt of Honour has a plane crash that is similar to the 9/11 WTC attacks), I was yet to come across one which actually dealt with the life and experiences of the seer themselves.

When has anyone not vaguely lamented ‘if only we had seen it coming’?

Sharma’s book is unique, in that sense, for it not only deals with this concept of prophetic predictions in detail but also discusses the impact it has on Sapna, and her family and friends.

With a concept this unusual, it had already piqued my curiosity. Add to that a story, narrated in a very interesting style, that doesn’t slacken the pace for a second.

At no point does the author let go of the plot or the tautness in the writing. Special applause to Indrani Ganguly for that. Loose ends are cleverly tied up through different narratives of the various characters, and via journal entries. It makes for a very engaging read – akin to a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces come together to present the complete picture.

With so many characters in a novel (although the characters are distinctive with each creating a unique impression in your mind) it may make for too many voices and narratives which could get confusing. The motivations that drive each one, their aspirations, and their background stories are well narrated and therefore, make for believable, relatable people. Some of the scenes seem too detailed at times but luckily, it doesn’t let the narrative drag.

The tension-filled scenes are interspersed with apt humour and help in building up the intrigue with the much-needed relief at just the right places in the right dosage. The story itself flows very naturally and (though not predictable), makes complete sense in the end. The range of emotions it evokes in the reader – tension, mild amusement, sadness – because of the characters choices and decisions, reference to the real-world incidents/tragedies, and the understanding that not everything is black and white – makes it an interesting and gripping read.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and (because of its various elements of mystery, humour, emotion) would happily call it a complete masala entertainer.

Published by Readomania, The Woman Who Saw The Future is available on Amazon here.