Sirens of Memory is an intense psychological thriller with tensions constantly increasing until your anxiety is off the charts, causing you to pray hard for a happy and just ending. Puja Guha has crafted a novel that feels incredibly realistic, filled in equal measure with hope, fear, love, hatred and looking to the future versus running from your past.
Mariam is the victim of domestic violence from her abusive husband Tareq, but when she finds out she’s pregnant she finally decides to leave him. Complicating matters, Iraq has just invaded Kuwait to kick off the Gulf War. As a result, she hides out in an Indian refugee camp before posing as another man’s wife to leave the country. Fast forward 25 years and Mariam has a daughter in college and is happily married to Raj, the man who helped her flee Kuwait. Believing Tareq is dead, she’s made a nice life for herself in the United States and is in therapy to work through her PTSD. However, her past is not dead and buried as she has thought, kicking off a fervent cat-and-mouse game that threatens everything Mariam holds dear. Can she summon the necessary courage one more time to overcome her traumatic past? Or is she destined to return to the hellish existence she experienced in Kuwait?
It’s important to note that Sirens of Memory focuses on the triggering topic of domestic violence and has several scenes that are very difficult to read. But if you can handle the experience of witnessing the violence Mariam endures, you will be rewarded with a powerful novel that will stick with you for a while. The pacing is fantastic with the intensity constantly growing. The characters are well developed and realistic, each playing a critical part in the story’s advancement. The violence is balanced out with love and affection between family and friends, providing hope to counteract fear. And the story has enough near misses and twists to keep it from being easily predictable. Put together, it results in a novel that forces you to keep reading to find out what happens next.
Because of the spousal abuse I can’t say it’s a completely enjoyable reading experience. But it’s compelling, excellent, gripping and impressive. It’s difficult to put down, easily finished in a single day and hard to forget. Which tells you all you need to know. It’s a first-rate thriller.
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