Every first day of the school year will start with a game of Name place Animal Thing. We will gather around the desks, hunching and thinking hard for the unique words to write in the respective columns. It is my favourite activity and the only good thing about the back to school scenario. Anyway, this book does capture all the nostalgia of those school days where our only problem was to complete the homework and not fall asleep in the physics class.



Lyndem does a wonderful job of bringing back childhood memories. This book maps the journey of a girl from childhood to adulthood. And I find this theme of other prevalent throughout the book. Not in a negative light but how this sense of other is ingrained in our memories by various events that inflict deeply. There is the comparison between Khasis and non-tribals, Christians and non-Christians, natives and outsiders, friends and not friends, well, you get the idea. This sense of other is absent in the 8-year-old girl but by the time our D reaches her 20s, she can identify this otherness.



Another theme I found interesting is the sharp critique of religion. Religion, which is supposed to be a solace for people turns into a weapon. And this is enforced by the religious institution by guilt-tripping. Most of us give into it but then many don't. This religious scenario is somewhat different to what I grew up with but the guilt-tripping and refusing to answer remains the same.



I adored the setting of Shillong. The hills, the culture is all something I loved a lot about this book. The city is full of politics. I must say growing up, I didn't know many of the events that took place and I did read up on the issues I missed out on. Through the eyes of D, we see the city changing, figuratively and metaphorically.



Now, coming to my favourite part. The last story of this book wrecked me. Without spoiling much, it is about the best friend of D. The bond between Yuva and D is something that made me cry and though I saw that the end coming, I was not expecting it to affect me a lot. And in a way, it marked the permanent loss of innocence in D. Throughout the stories, there is a small amount of loss of innocence, but this completely bid farewell to whatever little innocence she held. And that's how we are thrown into adulthood, aren't we? Unexpected events at an unexpected time.



With that all said, this book is no way near perfect. Some structural problems had me pulling my hair. But at the end of the day, It was worth it. I can see why it was shortlisted. However, I can't see this one winning the prize.