Author : Amita Raj
Romantic novels are some of the most beloved works of fiction because they touch upon love, a sentiment so basic and universal in us all! So, it’s not surprising that book stores and libraries carry huge number of specifically ‘romance novels’, that also flood publishing houses like Harlequin and Mills & Boon.
These stories are usually some form of the constantly told Cinderella tale. Set often in dreamy and glamorous locations in Europe, it’s that unnoticed, inexperienced, plain young damsel, who’s the heroine. She falls hopelessly in love with a handsome, unapproachable and rich prince charming, and discovers later that he too is madly in love with her. Despite obstacles, their true love always wins happily.
I grew up escaping into the fairytale-like magic of such idyllic tales until I found myself seeking novels with realistic love themes of greater complexity.
‘Anna Karenina’, for instance by Russian author Leo Tolstoy is one such story I’ve enjoyed. It explores the psychological and emotional workings of an ill-fated extra- marital love affair between Anna, wife of Karenin and the charming and romantic Count Vronksy. The count abandons Anna eventually even though she’s given up everything for him. The story ends with her tragic suicide, but leaving the reader cherishing the poignancy of her vulnerable and beautiful love.
Indian author R.K. Narayan’s famous novel ‘The Guide’ is also another such heartfelt love story. In it Raju, a tour guide falls madly in love with dancer Rosie, the unhappy wife of Marcos. Raju offers her undying love and also ardently supports her dance career. However, his growing possessive passion only annoys the ambitious dancer and blinds him into a trap of fraud and imprisonment. His sorrow is deeply moving and causes him to transcend his romantic love into renunciation.
In my view, such novels that explore deep facets of love are enduring. While popular romance genre novels are fun to borrow and read, it’s those timelessly moving tales of passion that have become my personal collection, remaining with me as treasures to be read over and over again!
About the Author:
Amita Raj holds an M.A. in English. She’s always loved creating imaginatively rich
stories through the melody and colours of language. Her writing talent was sparked off at age eight in a classroom assignment, where she wrote the autobiography of a pen.
Since then, she’s been enchanted with writing, also reading and enjoying the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe. She’s been a contributing writer to Deccan Herald, India Currents, Twist & Twain magazine, and of late regularly to Story Scrapers, ArtoonsInn Poetry Parlour and Beyond The Box. She looks forward to her ongoing lyrical journey, writing and sharing with the world many more of her short stories, poems and novellas.