Benita Patnaik

Real Dreams Benita Patnaik

Benita Patnaik's debut novel is a riveting tale of love, lust and retribution. The story follows the young Aparajita, who is seeking to recognize and identify her restlessness by visiting her parents in Palampur. Shrouded with unexpected occurrences, she is compelled to tread a path of emotional manipulation and confrontation. A series of psychotic dreams and enigmatic events blurs the line between the past and present, unravelling the tortuous relationships in her family. The story travels through a maze of tangled signals to converge on a layered, inconclusive culmination. The story of Lily, a young woman who is facing her own identity crisis, balances the equation of the narrative. She is torn between her values and the dark environment of occult and insidious blackmail, and she makes a choice. Whether it leads her to her own retribution is the question. The book explores existential questions and is interspaced with supernatural elements. Both Aparajita's and Lily's lives evolve and eventually develop into a fascinating story that is enthralling, well-balanced and presented with a brilliant element of suspense. Added to this is Benita Patnaik's evocative style and subtle humour, which compels you to savour every page of Real Dreams.