Book: The Dance and the Trance

Author: Deepti Menon

Genre: Fiction

Format: Paperback

Publisher: H & C Publishing House

Pages: 163

My Rating: 4.8/5 *

About the Book:

The book tells the story of Mani, whose life takes an unexpected turn after his father decides to retire from the role of Velichappadu of the village. As the story takes forward, we come to know how Mani sacrificed his dreams and aspirations for the sake of his family and the village. Also, he sacrificed his love which remained a silent song that he carried in his heart until his life was tied with another woman, Meenakshi. How they become perfect life partners, how Mani accepts the decision he takes, and how he embraces the duties and responsibilities, depict his life story and the readers will see Mani’s growth and transformation as the story continues.

There’s a deep message hidden in the book. Through Mani’s story, we learn how to surrender ourselves to the Almighty and how we are destined to embark on the path we are meant to walk toward the purpose of our lives. We don’t choose our fate, rather, someone above writes the story of our lives.

Author Bio:

Deepti Menon is a well-known name in the writing field for her great rapport in weaving short stories with a breathtaking twist at the end. She also loves to write tales to tingle the funny bones of the readers, thus weaving her stories in the humor genre. Having been in the Army family from her childhood, first as an Army kid and later as an Army wife, she has been privileged to travel to many places and gather her inspiration to create phenomenal characters that stay with the readers for a long time.

So far, she has published nine books on different genres, including poetry, memoirs, thrillers, and more. Her psychological thriller series, The Shadow Trilogy has been loved and appreciated by the readers. Apart from this, she has contributed to 25 anthologies.

She has worked enormously as a freelance journalist and has been privileged to interview celebrities like Ruskin Bond, Jeffrey Archer, and many other notable figures from across a varied range of fields.

Deepti Menon has received many awards and accolades. The Rotary Award, The Salismania Award for Non Fiction for Defying Destiny, The Holistic Pine Sahitya Puraskar for excellence in the field of Literature, and The Sahitya Sparsh Award this year for The Web of Shadows, to name a few among the many ones.

Book Cover:

The book cover is very beautifully designed. The cover is designed by Jijoy Johny T. I really appreciate the artist’s imagination in bringing the author’s story onto a canvas and then making it an attractive book cover of this book.

As the title ‘The Dance and the Trance’ depicts the story of the character Mani, from his eyes, we come to know a lot of things about this book. But the book’s central theme is the dance he does when he goes into a trance, and this phenomenon is articulately depicted in the book cover.

The gorgeous book cover has a soothing yellow background and a tinge of fiery orange to add another layer of interest to the reader. Most importantly, the vibrant illustration of the Velichappadu is the central attraction of the book cover, and it successfully draws the reader’s attention to grab this book instantly.

What’s Waiting Inside:

When you start reading the book ‘The Dance and the Trance’, you will slowly transcend into the world of Mani and the other characters of this story. As the story unfolds, more characters are introduced to the story. The more characters become part of the story of Mani, the more the story enters another depth.

Every character has a background, a story within a story, and most importantly, a significant contribution to bringing the best out of this story. The author has set up her fictional backdrop in a village in South India, and through her usage of vernacular words and the vivid description of the characters, the readers get to know a lot about the culture of the village.

Writing Style:

The author’s writing style is simple and lucid. While reading this book, the reader will feel like hearing a story from their grandparents. The author has narrated the story seamlessly to depict the plot and the characters in front of the reader.

With her excellent writing style, she makes every character so vivid that at a point, after reading a few chapters, it seems like you are seeing the characters in front of you. Such is the power of author Deepti Menon’s pen.

Another thing that I love while reading this book is, the details of the character’s background, their looks, their choices, and most importantly, an invisible presentation on how they become a part of this story. Here is a vital lesson to learn from Deepti Menon, the author of ‘The Dance and the Trance.’

A Glimpse of the Book:

This book has a number of notable characters. Firstly, the main character of the story is Mani. At the beginning of the book, we see him as a simple young boy who loves to dream and aspire to do something big in his life. But his life takes an unexpected turn when he is chosen as the next Velichappadu of the village. Gradually, he transforms into a sincere and wise man who is a well-revered figure in the village.

Next comes Premila and Meenakshi – the two prominent women characters of this story. Premila has lived with all kinds of amenities and has been privileged enough to have whatever she wished for. Being born and brought up in a cultured and educated environment, she emerges as a self-dignified woman. On the other hand, Meenakshi seems to be a far simpler character compared to Premila. But, the deeper you dig into the story, the more the layers of her character are revealed to the reader.

There are many other characters in the story like Veda, Ammu, Appu, Keshavan, Muthassi, and more, and everyone has their own story that becomes a vital part of the central plot. But I don’t want to reveal their stories as I want to leave it to the readers.

A Quote to Remember:

“The announcement fell on their ears, and it was as if they had all been given a new lease of life.”

– From ‘The Dance and the Trance’ by Deepti Menon

It was the first quote that grabbed my attention in this book because this one sentence is a life-changer for Mani, the protagonist of the story. This one decision of becoming the next Valichappadu changed his life forever.

Another quote that I would like to mention here, made me have goosebumps as I shivered while reading the next lines.

“It was as if they were witnessing a metamorphosis, the birth of a butterfly from a caterpillar.”

– From ‘The Dance and the Trance’ by Deepti Menon

What Makes the Difference:

The X-factor of the story is the story of ‘The Dance and Trance’ itself. In this book, the readers (who are uninitiated about the dance in the trance) will get to know many things about the ritual of ‘thullal’.

Apart from this, the author has written the book in such a lucid style that it feels like she is narrating the story to her grandchild. Therefore, reading this book never makes you feel bored. Rather, it intrigues the readers to know more about the characters and what happens next.

The book ‘The Dance and the Trance’ is an absolute page-turner as the story is told at a good pace and mysteries develop in every part of the story as a new character enters the story.

Some Important Highlights:

One of the moments I loved in this story was the moment when Mani embraced his role as the next Velichappadu of the village. I have read and re-read this chapter countless times as every time I read it, I felt goosebumps. The entire chapter describes how Mani begins the new chapter of his life.

Another moment that made an everlasting impression in my heart was the moment when Veda had her first maiden trip to the temple. It felt like I could see everything happening before me while reading this part.

I also loved the moment when Sharada attended the Vishu festival and was astonished to see the arrangements and everything that warmed her heart.

My Recommendation:

If you love reading mythological fiction historical fiction or fantasy books with a fairytale-like setup, this book is for you. If you love reading books that offer a story that takes you to another world, then this book is definitely for you.

I would recommend you to grab ‘The Dance and the Trance’ for a week-long read of yours, so you can pause after finishing a few chapters reading at a stretch and slowly enter the world of Mani.

Buy the book here.

(I received the review copy for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.)

(This post is part of the Bookish League blog hop hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile.)