When the noted children’s book author Shobha
Tharoor Srinivasan came to Kottayam recently, her former college mate, June
Jose, gave her a copy of ‘The Stolen Necklace’.
This is
Shobha’s response on WhatsApp:
“How far
that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”
These lines
of Portia’s from Shakespeare’s 'Merchant of Venice' came to mind when I read
Shevlin Sebastian’s compelling narrative ‘The Stolen Necklace’ as the author,
in his efforts to tell this story of unjustness, is shining light on a case
that calls for recompense.
Shevlin
Sebastian is a well-known journalist. His prose is fast paced, and uses data
and details that reveal the mind of an author used to reporting facts and
figures. The book acknowledges VK Thajudheen as co-writer for it is his story
to tell.
The
subtitle of the book is “a small crime in a small town” but the “large”
implications that shoddy police work and unjust accusations make on life
informs every page and is the focus of the narrative.
The book
tells the story of an unjust accusation that almost destroys the life of an
innocent man, VK Thajudheen. Though the man accused is freed from jail his life
is changed irrevocably. The questions raised are- Is freedom from confinement
the only restitution? What about one’s reputation and financial solvency?
The readers are left with a need for justice.
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