In the Country of Deceit - Shashi Deshpandey

I picked up this book because my friend is doing her PhD thesis about Shashi Deshpandey . Well..I cannot say I was impressed by the book, but it can be categorised as a decent book.

The story is about Devayani, an unmarried lady who falls in love with a married man, who is also many years elder to her. The first part of the book describes how Devayani is living an independent life in her new home, after the death of her mother. Her relatives ,including her married sister ,are trying to find a suitable alliance for her, but she seems to love her independence. Then she meets Ashok and finds he is attracted towards her.She ultimately enter into a relationship with him. The second part of the book describes their affair, how her sister reacts to it etc. Finally , in the last chapter Ashok is going away after choosing for a transfer and Devayani moves on with her life.

The ending doesn't look like an ending and the writer is not clear about many things. First and foremost, how did both of them fall in love? Ashok , in the book, says it was love at first sight for him. Devayani says love happened for her simply because it was Ashok.Well, I am not romantic enough to understand either of the above .In my understanding both of them were terribly alone and found solace in each other. At the same time, Devayani is guilty about it. She is feeling guilty when she meets Ashok's family . And Ashok may also have been feeling guilty about it and thats why he is opting for a transfer ."Its for my daughter..." he says in the last chapter.
Second..Is 26 really old for getting married ? even in a small town..? I dont think so.
next..Devayani is not comfortable with marrying a strange man, then how could she sleep with a man she has seen only a couple of times?

And I liked many aspects of the book like the way of narration in the form of letters. This have been used before in many other books but letters do make the portrayal of characters clearer. And the parallel story of Rani , the yesteryear's superstar , is also touching. And the best thing I liked about the book is the character of Sindhu, who appears only in the form of letters but leave a mark behind.

A well written book. Will give 3.5 out of 5.