Review of The Lost Necklace

[Eunice Geres]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Lost Necklace" by Kuljit Mann.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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The Lost Necklace by Kuljit Mann is a collection of eight thought-provoking stories narrating different people’s philosophical views in each narrative. The stories revolved around relevant social issues such as family ties, divorce, depression, hypocrisy, traditions, friendships, and domestic abuse. Since the main characters in each of the stories are Punjabi people who migrated to Canada, the author discussed the different traditions and views of the Punjabis extensively.

As a reader who deeply loves learning about other people’s traditions, I started this book with a high expectation. Unfortunately, the book didn’t meet what I wanted to see, even in the slightest. The only thing I liked about this book is that it honed my mind to be the most patient it had ever been. I believe that the philosophies discussed in the book are not anything profound or new.

Before discussing the negative points in this book, I would like to state that I am an excellent context clues finder, and I have read a wide variety of novels thanks to this website. So, when I tell you that I didn’t understand this collection, it is not because my mind cannot handle in-depth stories. I have listed numerous reasons why my mind is literally begging me to stop reading this book. However, I summarized those into three points: technical issues, characterization and plot structure, and cultural barriers.

First, I’ll discuss the technical issues. The book is written in a manner that is the same as the description of a broken English, which is “fragmented, incomplete, and/or marked by faulty syntax and inappropriate diction because the speaker's knowledge of the vocabulary isn't as robust as a native speaker.” However, I already expected that because I’ve read that this is the author’s first book written in English. What irked me the most is the numerous mistakes in the placement of quotation marks. Imagine being barely able to understand what was said, all the while being unable to identify who is talking or when someone is talking. Another technical issue is the usage of pronouns inconsistently. The author used the pronouns interchangeably. As a reader from another country, I wouldn't know if the speaker’s name is a female or a male. I mostly rely on the pronouns used to identify the character quickly.

The second issue I'm discussing is the characterization and the plot. The author depicted the characters weakly. The author didn’t make the characters as enjoyable as I wanted them to be. They lack background description and a consistent attitude, which makes them so bland. I also think that the author should’ve mentioned the characters' race because most stories happened in Canada. Stating the race is an excellent opportunity to discuss cultural differences. On the other hand, the plot is sometimes confusing because most narratives slide from flashbacks to the present without identifiable transitions.

The last issue I wanted to discuss is the cultural barrier or the “challenges to cross-cultural communication.” For most of the metaphors in this book, I believe I had a hard time understanding them because of a cultural barrier. I know there are certain words or phrases in Punjabi that changes their meaning when translated to English, or maybe they have a saying that relates only to the people of Punjabi. On another note, I believe that the cultural barrier is the cause of the broken English in this book. Maybe the author couldn’t find the right words to use. However, I believe that these issues are fixable with the right and sound editor.

With all of that said, I would rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. I wouldn’t say I liked anything about this book. There is not a single quote that interested me in this book. The philosophies discussed are nothing new for me. Technically speaking, it isn't easy to understand. And character-wise, they are so bland.

Since I gave this collection a one-star, I would not recommend this to anyone, and I don’t think anyone would like this wholeheartedly. I believe people read to explore and deeply understand incomprehensible thinking. Even if the philosophies found in this collection may seem interesting to other people, how can they enjoy the profound meanings if the written text itself is hard to understand? I’m sure that other books discussed the same topics with understandable grammar, exciting characters, and mesmerizing plots. That would be much better to read than this.

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The Lost Necklace
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[Kanchan Bhil]

It's too bad when a writer can't illustrate the stories and the characters the right way. Your review has an in-depth analysis of everything that seems wrong with the book. Thank you for your review.

[VictoriousReader]

Thank you for the review. I like your analysis of the book. I like the title of the book. It's unfortunate the book had so many technical issues.