Naked Beneath the Midnight Sun by Kamalini Natesan – Book Review

• Author: Kamalini Natesan
• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Olympia Publishers (26 September 2019)
• Language: English

BLURB as on Goodreads

Bored college student Suchu, longing to get away from her squabbling parents, leaves India for Norway and the Vestby Folk High School, taking a leap into the unknown.

Shy but inquisitive, Suchu often finds herself the center of attention, exotic among the students, from all over the world. She takes advantage of this, learning to enjoy others’ interests in her, finding new friends and an oddly ambivalent relationship with her roommate, Catherine, whose boyfriend Suchu covets. Through correspondence, more frank than conversation ever was, Suchu learns about herself and her parents and they grow closer, now they are apart. The young girl falls in love with Norway, but she also discovers the darker side of freedom. Where do her terrible dreams come from? Why has her roommate left?

Norway’s magic casts its spell on Suchu and she doesn’t want to leave, but can her Indian roots compete with those she wishes to put down in Norway?

A young heart seeking flight, a shy spirit waiting to turn itself wild, a girl who dreamt to soar high is what the book Naked Beneath the Midnight Sun made up of. With the cultural perspectives and differences put rightly, it is a book that warms up your heart in its own way.

Naked Beneath the Midnight Sun is a contemporary fiction novel set in India and Norway. The protagonist Suchareeta a.k.a. Suchu gets an opportunity to escape her Indian household and move to beautiful Norway for her education. There she gets to know the implicit aspect of her personality and explores it well along with traversing and befriending Norway. She makes friends, she falls in love, she fights her inner battles, she realizes the value of her family back home, and she identifies her true self.

I have absolutely enjoyed reading this novel. Although I am not much of a fan of Young Adult, I really liked how the author has painted Suchu’s picture. With vivid details of the characters and artistic description of Suchu’s journey all the way from India to Norway, the book manages to grab the reader’s attention completely. The author had captured the beauty and culture of Norway delightfully with her wonderful expression. I loved the prose as much as I admired carved out images of Suchu’s emotional turmoil. And the one thing I loved the most was the switching of the prose between descriptive narration to the epistolatory format. I absolutely adore the handwritten letters and the beauty contained in them and here, the author won my heart. How gracefully the emotions traversed through words and made their way across countries. Stupendous!

Also, I instantly felt amazing about the intricate details of each character that has been served to the readers. It made me connect with the story. I really felt nice about the overall narration and coherence of the narrative. The ending did come abruptly to me and I found it difficult to gulp it down but nevertheless, the book could be picked for breezy but immersive reading.

MY RATING: 4/ 5

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Buy your copy: Naked Beneath the Midnight Sun