Twice it Happened narrates the prodigious stories of two women across generations who carry secrets. The circumstances in which they reveal them and the consequences of their revelation form the plot of this family chronicle. Spanning nearly a century, the story is narrated in different but interlinked sections of the novel. Through dreams, voices, and visitations on her thirteen-day journey to the other world, the spunky Nagamma, also an imaginative storyteller reveals her secret to her niece, Jyothi, who is a disenchanted, weed-smoking university professor. Jyothi’s cousin, Chitra, the second protagonist, uses the epistolary mode to share her story of giving up her children; alongside her delightful yet subversive stories of life in an army cantonment.
These stories are interwoven with apocryphal stories of large, close-knit families, creating incredible narratives of women, relationships and desires. The novel is multi-layered in its complexity and draws upon the rich and diverse traditions of storytelling prevalent in our societies.
Reviews
- Gita’s first novel is sophisticated and engrossing. Employing a variety of narrative styles, she lets us into the secret lives of her colorful women characters.
-Rani Dharker, Author of The Virgin Syndrome - The writer dares to dive into the messy and tangled pond of infidelity, ostracisation, and pain, with compassion rather than judgment. And when we leave the book, there is a strange sense of loss … the kind you feel when you leave close relatives behind … those that you love in spite of their flaws and foibles or perhaps because of them.
-Rekha Nigam, Dialogue writer of Parineeta and Screenwriter of Laaga Chunri Mein Daag - Twice it Happened is an engrossing tale that can be read at a stretch and savored for a long time.
-Lalitha Ravindran Founder, First Forays, Pune
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