Naked is one of a kind book. It often felt like I was watching the characters live their part in front of my eyes. Like a movie. Written by Aditi Mediratta (screenplay writer) and Michaela Talwar (filmmaker and creative producer) , Naked navigates through the world without the rose tinted glasses. When I finished reading Naked a couple of days ago, I didn’t know how to feel about it. I, for one, usually prefer my books to be more plot oriented but this one was character driven. It often felt like I was reading the book on loop, where the characters bumped into each other, while the layers of their personalities were being peeled like onions. But at the very core of the story is a woman who almost feels ethereal. Her name is Chinky and this is ultimately her story.

When Chinky’s naked body washes up on a beach in Mumbai, Inspector Gaikwad begins his investigation about her death. He meets a bunch of eccentric characters, from her roommates to husband. Each of them have their own tales to tell about this young woman whose life ended abruptly. Soon, the inspector learns about her numerous boyfriends, her ability to connect and read others’ minds, the surreal manner in which she works and lives. Chinky is hard to describe because how would you label a woman who lives beyond the shackles of society? She sheds clothes like it doesn’t mean anything, gives advice in a way that makes others feel that she can peer into their souls and lives a life that’s so unheard of. She has no inhibitions,no expectations and least of all, absolutely no interest in the inconsequential nature of how the world works. And this is what makes 90% of the book.

The remaining 10% focuses on her roommates, Iti and Abhishek. A girl who comes from Agra to work in the film industry and a gay man who shifts to Mumbai for another guy who’s emotionally unavailable. Since this novel is more character driven, we see a lot of time spent on understanding the human nature. The narrative shifts easily and is very diverse. We see an array of emotions associated with the characters and all of them are very relatable.

Personally, although the characters were interesting, I couldn’t connect with them emotionally. The story went around in circles, touching the same points time and again. I did feel disconnected quite often and had to push myself to get to the end, which in itself felt a little abrupt. However, I do feel that this book may work very well for those who prefer books with a hint of mystery and surrealism. I did enjoy the writing style and will look forward to reading more by the author duo.