Title: Canvas of Dreams

Grab a copy here: http://www.indireads.com/books/canvas-of-dreams/

Author: Jaya Siva Murthy

Rating: 3/5

About the Author (From the Novella):

Jaya Siva Murty is a business writer and social media manager from Visakhapatnam, India.

Fascinated with the written word since the age of ten, she would file away her poems and short
stories in a secret diary, till some were finally published by ‘Times of India’ and ‘Savvy’. She has written for the Economic Times and now provides India relevant stories for a Hong Kong based magazine. When she’s not designing content for websites, or writing technical blogs and articles for clients worldwide, she spins yarns with unusual twists and turns through her works of fiction. Jaya holds a business management degree and has taken creativity lessons at Stanford University. ‘Canvas of Dreams’ is her debut foray into novella writing.

Publisher:

Indireads was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia. With edgy, contemporary and compelling fiction by new writers and its digital-only publishing model, Indireads is breaking new ground in terms of the reading experience and giving voice to new writing talent.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/indireadsbooks

Twitter: @indireads

Indireads Official Blog: www.indireads.com/indiwords

Book Blurb (From Indireads):

Riya seems to have lost everything—the man she loves to another woman, her husband to death and her soul to fear.

When she finally realizes her dream of opening an art gallery, however, things begin to look up. On the one hand, she is working closely with the handsome artist, Rehaan. On the other, her first love Ryan comes back into her life, and the other woman is out of the picture.

But can she move on from her past, or will its long fingers cast a shadow on everything she does?

Now for my view:

I think I’m on a roll these days. From being unable to pick up even a single book for over two months to finishing so many novellas in a week I feel like I’ve come a long way. A long, long way trust me. I feel happy (touch-wood) that I’ve begun taking baby steps back to my reading routine. Though I’m still not able to find time to read when at home, the connectivity issue at office has come as a welcome relief to the reader in me. And so today I finished ‘Canvas of Dreams’ by Jaya Siva Murthy.

It is the tale of Riya and her journey in life as she fights her demons to live a life of her choice with the man she loves. An art curator by profession Riya goes through a lot as she moves from a massive heart break to an abusive marriage with an over possessive husband. But her struggles do not end there. The death of her husband, unpleasant in so many ways, pushes her to a dark world of nightmares that extend their arms into her reality. As she fights to stay afloat avoiding all that pain Ryan, perhaps her one and only true love, comes back to her life. But does that end her tumultuous affair with a steady love life? No. It pushes her to the brink of drowning in the same old wounds as the issues between the two remain unresolved. And once again as before she runs away from it just to find herself in another suffocating relationship, even though for just a few days. Edgy and tired of all this Riya seeks peace through art but even that fails to pacify her. Seeking solitude with a desire to start afresh she runs away leaving everything behind even if for a while. Does she end up alone? Or, does Ryan come back to her life? Does she get her happily ever after? Now you would have to read the novella to find that out, wouldn’t you?

I liked the way the author sketched Riya’s character. A woman who runs away from her deepest fears and avoids confronting the issues that bother her. That is our protagonist. She has flaws just like any of us but still has a heart that desires love. That wants love. I think that is what I liked most about the novella. For Riya to carry the story she had to be a character that connected with the reader. And Jaya was able to do just that. Riya was equally strong and weak, just the perfect balance I should say.

Another facet of the novella that caught my attention was Jaya’s attention to detail. Art had an important part to play in this novella and Jaya made sure that it didn’t seem half baked. So a plus there too.

All in all, I think ‘Canvas of Dreams’ is a good read and one that I would definitely recommend. And if you heed to my advice then you can grab a copy here.