Aanchal Malhotra

"Imagine this plot of skin as an island. Isolated from all smells, a brief interlude, a patch of renewal."

The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra is a touching story of love amidst partition. The plot is fragrant with ittar and slowly touches your heart. It moves and makes way to capture the emotions of each character. I was mesmerized by the amount of detailing, which sits like jewels in the plot. And as the author defines "ittars," you can literally feel each fragrance lingering show more around you. I felt a personal connection to this, as I also love "Ittars" so much. But the book is not only about fragrance; it has pain and separation, which makes your heart cry out. I would like to applaud the author for her efforts in relating all the characters in such a minute thread. And, that is not all; the plot captured my heart with its artistic imagery, which creates in your mind while reading it. To inhale the full essence of the book, you need patience and love.

I do not know whether my words can do full justice to the book or not. But this is one of the best pieces of literature I have read this year. It is one of those books that will remain unfaded in a reader's memory and will urge readers to revisit it again and again. show less

This was an interesting way to tell a story that is rapidly fading from living memory. India gained independence from Britain in 1947 and immediately split into 2 countries, India and Pakistan, which was mostly muslim. Suddenly a lot of people found themselves on the wrong side and subject to horrific violence by their neighbours. Its an act that has echoes today in the continued uneasy relaitonship between the two countries.
This tells that story by speaking to 21 people who were there and show more uses an item that they had or carried during their moveemtn across the border at the time. By nature of being a refugee, most of the objects are either practical or are small and valuable. They were things that could be carried easily. The stories these people tell of the things they witnessed are horrible and you do wonder how they managed to sleep that night, ag=fter stirring these long burried memories up again. It does not make for comfortable reading, but that does not mean it should not be read.
The stories could become repetitive, and so having 21 makes for a reasonable quantity, each one is suffiently different in their memories of the time before and after to avoid this becomming the same story told over and over.
It's an important event that needs to be captured now, in order that the generaitons that come after understand the pain and suffering that attended the birst of two nations and why that still matters.
I won this book as part of a prize of all the books shortlisted for the Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding in 2019. If they are as good as this, I'm in for a treat as I read the other 5. show less

A moving story, spanning around 100 years, of war, loss, death, and heartbreak during the World War(s) and the Partition. I enjoyed the writing - it was super poetic and the smells and colors of places (Pakistan, India, and Europe) felt super vivid. Samir and Firdaus' love story and their tragedy were depressing but also felt real enough - that sometimes in life you gotta move on, but your first and true love always stays in your heart.
Of course, the trope of lovers being separated during show more the Partition is sort of overdone and predictable, I did like the ending show less

I bought and read this because I wanted to learn more about this period of history in India/Pakistan.
I didn't learn anything I didn't already know.
This is literary fiction and I am not the author's intended audience.
That said, the characterizations were wonderful and I enjoyed the MCs story.
It uses perfume and scent as a metaphor for memory, forgetting, guilt and surviving.