Saturday 16 July 2016

FORGET ME NOT STRANGER BOOK REVIEW By Jayshree Sridhar




The Stranger Trilogy released its last book and when I got my hands on it, I assure you I didn't keep it down until I finished it.

Every person doesn't read the same book, I've heard. And I'm here to give my opinion only on the book I've read. Interpretations differ and opinions vary. I know I have a very insignificant amount of readers on my blog but  The Stranger trilogy along with its review will have a message. A message to everyone out  there who find this book reasonable. A message on why the moral of this story was wrong.

The book was written in a very thrilling and exciting way where one cannot wait for the next twist to unfold where things only get even more twisted.  The book had me hooked to the very end but the very end is what I had a problem with. Also coming to think of it, I have my issues with the very beginning as well.

Warning: Spoilers down here…

If the Stranger trilogy was a story about one woman who had a stranger following her, and her life turning and twisting in unimaginable ways since he became a part of her life…I would have been much more supportive of this story right now. Turns out it's not.

Stranger is not a single person intruding a life of someone he specifically targeted. Stranger or after the story you'd know, 'Strangers' are apparently a group of emotional surgeons who operate on emotions of people and help them find the better versions of themselves. Okay first of all, How do you pick these people? Randomly? That makes it ridiculously illegal son. Secondly WHY?? Why would anyone bother what kind of emotional betterment another person needs unless they both are related in some way.

These questions were not meant to be sarcastic, but even J.K Rowling took at least half of the first Harry Potter book to make it convincing that the world of witchcraft exists. She still is trying and succeeding pretty well btw. Not that anyone doesn't know.  Anyways, throwing in an underground committee called 'Emotional surgeons' (Most bizarre thing I heard this year) in the end of the last book in trilogy and that too with an explanation up to only  one page, is not doing any good in convincing the readers on the realism of the story.


The dialogues in the book did not hit the feel enough either. I could not feel the trauma of a person who realized they were the reason behind someone's death. A good thriller works when the characters care. I didn't feel enough care in anyone. Only shocking turn of events.

Who are these Strangers? Whom do they target? Why they target them? Why bother in the first place? What's the backstory? And most importantly, Are you guys getting paid for being stalkers? On no, let me correct that, Emotional surgeons?


The stranger trilogy, especially now that has come to an end has disappointed me majorly because it never touched the one issue staring right at the face. STALKING. EXTREMELY DISTURBING LEVELS OF STALKING. Not only did the books never gave a solution or any depth to this issue but also very successfully romanticized it, which is one of the major problem with storytelling in our country. Romanticizing abuse, romanticizing women's submissiveness, romanticizing stalking and every other bloody trauma that a woman is suffering.


With so much issues that had to be dwelled upon in the content, I really hoped the writer would empower his character, give a solution where she puts an end to the stalking.  Guess people still live in a Bollywood trance and aren't getting out of it for a very long time.

With much disappointment, I rate 'Forget Me Not, Stranger' with 2 stars for the thrilling trip until it reached the climax.



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