Welcome friends! Today I am on tour for Preethi Nair’s latest novel, Unravelling. A beautifully heartbreaking tale about the masks we wear while our inner truths get buried deeper and deeper, Bhanu’s story explores the unravelling of a seemingly perfect life as she confronts her past and reclaims her future. It is bound to tug at your heartstrings. Take a look at the synopsis:
The stories we tell ourselves and others are very often not true…
To the outside world, Bhanu seems to have a perfect a beautiful home and a wonderful husband and family… No one knows that each superficial layer has been carefully constructed to hide the dark secrets of her past and to bury the utter disappointment that what was written in the stars did not come to pass.
Then, on the eve of her fortieth wedding anniversary and vow renewal ceremony, a chance encounter shatters Bhanu’s pretence, when a face from her past reappears.
Deep, her first love who was etched into her heart, the man who lingered in her dreams throughout her married life, reappears, asking her to abandon everything for a second chance at love.
Forced to confront the consequences of choices made long ago, Bhanu begins to unravel as her life is thrust into chaos. But by reaching for a different future, can she heal the wounds of her past?
An extraordinary story about the complex tapestry that makes up a woman’s life and how facing the truth can change everything…
Unravelling – Book Review
In Unravelling, Bhanu’s story unfolds like the very sari she chooses for her 40th wedding anniversary at the beginning of the novel. A sari is a garment rich in cultural significance in Indian culture. At first glance, Bhanu’s life seems perfect. Married for decades, with grown children and a grandchild, she lives a stable life in London. But as the story progressed, I saw that this perfection was a carefully constructed facade. Divided into five sections—each representing a yard of the sari—the novel strips away Bhanu’s outer layers to reveal the pain and betrayal that shaped her.
“Marriage is a lifetime contract. If you are unhappy in your marriage, you maintain an outward focus and pick yourself up with a nice sari and put on some jewellery; perhaps you get a new car and a personalised number plate and you demonstrate to the world how happy you are.”
Quote from Unravelling
The Sari as a Symbol of Secrets
The Indian community setting adds richness to the narrative. It is depicted in the significance of saris, family obligations, the auspiciousness of fire, and the fear of societal judgment. In Indian culture, choice and color of sari are pivotal in many Indian milestones like marriage and death. Unravelling begins with Bhanu’s selection of a sari for her 40th anniversary.
Just as each layer of the sari conceals the one beneath it, Bhanu’s outer appearance hides her inner pain, only revealing itself as the story unravels. The yards of sari show how Bhanu has hidden her struggles under a surface of grace and duty. Over the years, Bhanu has presented a certain picture to her family and community. Very few people know what actually happened when she was young and even fewer have recognized the pressure they have put on her. Each section of Unravelling delved deeper into Bhanu’s past, uncovering a culmination of hidden heartbreaks that no one else sees.
The Weight of Expectations and the Struggle for Self
Bhanu’s journey is not just about the secrets of her past but about the crushing weight of expectations—both cultural and familial. Throughout the story, Bhanu is caught between being the woman everyone expects her to be and the person she truly is. The cultural norm of worrying about “what will people think” plays a significant role in her decisions, including her reluctance to confront her past or express her true desires to those who are supposed to be her support system.
Bhanu is not oblivious to the pain her family inflicts on her. She just has a unique way of coping that has been solidified into a concrete system to protect herself over the course of decades. But the impending act of renewing her marriage vows at her 40th anniversary becomes a catalyst to face the unhappiness that life has been. No matter how beautiful a sari she buys, she cannot bring herself to lie in front of the auspicious fire. She can no longer pretend that the last 40 years have been joyous.
Unravelling shows that even the strongest expectations cannot suppress the need for self-realization. The upcoming anniversary celebration and then Bhanu’s encounter with her first love, Deep, forces her to face the reality of the life she has built and the dreams she has buried. She realizes that everyone in her life—including Deep—wants her to fit into their ideal image of who she should be, rather than accepting her for who she truly is.
Silent Battles: Abandonment and Unspoken Grief
Unravelling explores how grief and trauma can be carried quietly for years. Bhanu’s decision to finally stand up for herself and break free from these silent battles is the culmination of decades of pain and self-repression. Her journey is about finally standing up for herself and letting others take responsibility for their actions rather than taking the blame on herself.
At the heart of Bhanu’s story is the pain of abandonment. Her father left her and her mother when she was young, and soon after, her mother left Bhanu to be raised by her aunt. These early losses echo throughout her life, shaping her relationships with her adopted parents, her adopted sister, her husband, her children, and even herself. Bhanu’s struggles with abandonment and unspoken grief are evident in her silence and her unwillingness to confront the people who have hurt her. Add in societal expectations and upbringing to create paralysis.
The Writing: Depicting Pain with Humour and Care
Preethi Nair is a phenomenal writer. She expertly weaves themes of identity, sacrifice, and the longing for personal freedom with humour and sarcasm. I loved the influence of Rumi and poetry in Bhanu’s life. I didn’t quite like her at first but as the yards of her life story unraveled and it became clear that she wasn’t a bystander in her life and had gained wisdom in all the years, Unravelling pulled me deeper in the narrative.
I loved that she did not put the same pressures she faced on the younger generation and she did her best with her kids, though sadly they did not appreciate her. Her relationship with her son’s girlfriend, Sarah, was key to recognizing the strong woman Bhanu is and how she would never force anyone into anything they shouldn’t do. She is honest and caring.
“Events happen, and then there are our versions of events – stories we tell ourselves that shape the narrative of our lives, sometimes true, but some re-remembered incorrectly. It has only occurred to me recently that it is all a question of perspective, that we might be the villain in someone else’s story and that someone is sitting on a therapist’s couch somewhere because of us.”
Quote from Unravelling
Unravelling was hard to put down. I wanted to comfort Bhanu and see her happy. I wished her life circumstances had been kinder. I wished the people dear to her had understood the pressure they put on her to keep up appearances was uncalled for. But none of that had happened, there would be no unravelling. Her struggles were necessary and the novel beautifully illustrates how personal growth often comes through pain.
A fantastic page-turner to the very end!
Let me know if you add this book to your Goodreads shelf or what you thought of the review.
About the Author: Preethi Nair
“Preethi Nair is a one-woman whirlwind” – HarperCollins
Preethi worked as a management consultant and gave it up to follow her dream and write her first book, Gypsy Masala. Having been rejected by most publishers, she set up her own publishing company and PR agency to publish and promote the book all whilst putting on a suit and pretending to go to work. Working under the alias of Pru, Preethi managed to gain substantial coverage and after two years of a roller-coaster journey, she signed a three-book deal with HarperCollins. She won an Asian Women of Achievement Award for her endeavours and “Pru” was also shortlisted as Publicist of the Year for the PPC awards.
Having never acted before (not even at school), Preethi went on to write, act and produce Sari: The Whole Five Yards, a sell-out one-woman show in the West End. Preethi adapted this play into the novel Unravelling, which has been optioned for television.
Preethi is also visiting professor at various business schools, teaching modules on creativity for personal leadership.
Learn more on her website and connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for giving me a chance to highlight this book on my blog in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for reading my thoughts. 🙂
Check out other reviewers on the tour:
If you enjoy narratives about Indian culture, check out the book review index and search for ‘indian’. I look forward to adding this one to the list in my next round of updates. 🙂
Thanks for the blog tour support x