Title: Another Heaven
Author: Annu Subramanian
Publisher: Apprentice House
ISBN: 9781934074879
Pages: 332, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Tiffany Ezuma, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
The story starts quickly, throwing the reader and the protagonist, Tina Matthew, into the thick of a terrorism plot of human trafficking. As a researcher, Tina goes to India to do field research on the psychology behind terrorism. Immediately, the reader becomes emotionally attached to Tina because of how real and important her work feels to her; her passion radiates off of the page. Subramanian quickly illustrates that she has strength in creating and writing female characters. Tina is complex—she is smart but she still seeks out knowledge, she is wise yet naïve, and is both trusting and suspicious.Her character is also something of a perfectionist, which causes her to dwell on the phrase, “the end of all means is the beginning,” a cryptic statement she comes across in her studies. When she cannot immediately solve the logic or the meaning behind the words, she fixates on them and the phrase appears frequently throughout the novel. She is never quite sure what it means, nor is the reader. The phrase is symbolic of how baffling the actions and beliefs of radicals can be to the average person; Tina’s mentor states that phrases like this only exist to create chaos and disorder into everyday life.
The book relies on coincidences of time and chance meetings, which tend to feel forced in some novels. But the sophistication of Subramanian’s writing allows the novel to escape this fate, and instead the device manifests itself in the way of organic storytelling. The way the characters meet doesn’t feel contrived but rather that they were fated to connect with one another. Tina meets many characters that are seemingly separate from one another but as the novel progresses, it is clear that they are all connected on a close-knit network caused by the actions of a few terrorists; it also illustrates how terrorists really work from such a grassroots level in these small communities.
The story may focus on how terrorism start on how widespread terrorism is but the remaining message is clear; the beginning and end of all means is hope. This book is a quick-paced, character driven piece of literature that will interest most readers in this post- 9/11 world. Readers will only find the book more appealing when they learn that the proceeds from the novel go to an organization to help stop human trafficking. Readers won’t forget this compelling story any time soon.
“The story starts quickly, throwing the reader and the protagonist, Tina Matthew, into the thick of a terrorism plot of human trafficking. As a researcher, Tina goes to India to do field research on the psychology behind terrorism. Immediately, the reader becomes emotionally attached to Tina because of how real and important her work feels to her; her passion radiates off of the page. Subramanian quickly illustrates that she has strength in creating and writing female characters. Tina is complex—she is smart but she still seeks out knowledge, she is wise yet naïve, and is both trusting and suspicious. Her character is also something of a perfectionist, which causes her to dwell on the phrase, “the end of all means is the beginning,” a cryptic statement she comes across in her studies. When she cannot immediately solve the logic or the meaning behind the words, she fixates on them and the phrase appears frequently throughout the novel. She is never quite sure what it means, nor is the reader. The phrase is symbolic of how baffling the actions and beliefs of radicals can be to the average person; Tina’s mentor states that phrases like this only exist to create chaos and disorder into everyday life. The book relies on coincidences of time and chance meetings, which tend to feel forced in some novels. But the sophistication of Subramanian’s writing allows the novel to escape this fate, and instead the device manifests itself in the way of organic storytelling. The way the characters meet doesn’t feel contrived but rather that they were fated to connect with one another. Tina meets many characters that are seemingly separate from one another but as the novel progresses, it is clear that they are all connected on a close-knit network caused by the actions of a few terrorists; it also illustrates how terrorists really work from such a grassroots level in these small communities. The story may focus on how terrorism start on how widespread terrorism is but the remaining message is clear; the beginning and end of all means is hope. This book is a quick-paced, character driven piece of literature that will interest most readers in this post- 9/11 world. Readers will only find the book more appealing when they learn that the proceeds from the novel go to an organization to help stop human trafficking. Readers won’t forget this compelling story any time soon.
