The Awful Age
Author: Tisha Khosla
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Rating: 3.5/5
Adolescence is a new birth, for the higher and more completely human traits are now born.
Tisha Khosla’s The Awful Age is loosely based on this adage, for it entails a teenager who constantly finds herself caught in the whirlpool of what’s right and wrong. Tiana, the protagonist, is artless; she calls a spade a spade. But that’s not how teenagers are supposed to be wired, isn’t it? Well, sadly for Tiana, her pragmatic brain and pure heart do not allow her to follow the blind alleyway. The result? She questions what doesn’t fit the jigsaw of life! Hence, she’s disliked, more appropriately, despised.
The story takes an interesting turn when Tiana finds herself at loggerheads in school. Her teachers are so oblivious to the changing ideologies and are stuck in the dungeon of the sexist and patriarchal world. Pedantic that Tiana is, she questions the norms and is suspended for something she didn’t do. She decides to take the reigns in her hand when she discovers that her friends are no saints. Revolving around the tumultuous mindset of the teenagers, the several problems that they encounter, the peer pressure and the unsaid agony that governs their overall development, The Awful Age is all about it. Weaving a cosy yet effective narrative around Tiana and her quest to prove her innocence, this story will take you back to your teenage days and probably, make you retrospect about your choices and their impact.
A lucid storyline and a likeable protagonist made this story pass the muster for me. Yet, at some points, I found the narrative verbose. Overall, The Awful Age is a funny, witty and enjoyable ride.
Best wishes to the author!
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