Book: Then The Door Bell Rang

Author: Capri Jalota

Genre: Fiction

Publication: Inkstate Books

Another book that has been long overdue for review is “Then The Door Bell Rang”. Reading through the blurb, I was little worried about not making it through the entire book…well I am not exactly comfortable reading about suicides and self harm. At least that is what I assumed the story to be.

I was only partially right.  The story is of ‘Jane’ with Indian father and British mother. Jane’s mother leaves her in her father’s care while she is still young and the failed marriage of her parents subconsciously affects her.

When Jane does fall in love with Uday and marries him eventually, she is not ready to mingle with his side of the family assuming bad vibes…all this because a letter from her mother elaborates the experiences her mother had with her in-laws in India.

Suddenly Jane is swallowed by grief as Uday meets an untimely death. It is then while going through his stuff that Jane learns more about Uday. She realizes that the ways Uday used to woo her were not his after all but of his dear friend, Rahul. She comes to know real Uday through a journal that her husband kept hidden in his cupboard.

An attempt, to later find Rahul and inform him of his friend’s death leads Jane to India where she gets to know her in-laws and meets another couple who help her in her efforts to locate Rahul. An untoward incident causes the death of the man who had been helping Jane hunt for Rahul. A panicky Jane runs back to Dubai without as much a courtesy call to the bereaved widow and the two little girls who had grown fond of Jane.

Years later, Jane does find Rahul with two young girls under his care. That the two girls belong to the man who helped her in Mumbai, makes her reach out to them. Events lead to Jane feeling lonely and suicidal.

As she finally contemplates to end her life, the door bell rings bringing her back from the brink and her world is completed.

The story many a times becomes monotonous and bit stretchy. Though the events in Jane’s life do take the story forward but I would have preferred if Jane’s interactions with different people were little crisper and tighter. The story doe not dwell enough on bond between Rahul and Jane which seems so minimal almost non-existent and stretched over a long period of time.

The story also wears a gloom in most part of the book.

However Jane’s self doubts and battle within herself make her look real and not just another fictional character. Her growth as a person because of various events happening in her life has been depicted very well.

The story is well written with good command over language and makes for an okay read. The story does have a happy ending but I prefer a more lighter atmosphere.

Read and decide for yourself if the book is for you.