Book: Caught in the Crossfire (Chronicles of Courage series):
Author: Lesley D. Biswas
Publisher: Duckbill (An imprint of Penguin Random House)
Type: Paperback
Length: 153 pages
Age Recommendation: 10 years+
The review has been written by my 13 Year old daughter Ayesha.
History has always fascinated me especially Indian Independence. It’s heartbreaking to hear the stories but essential to know them to so that the spirit of patriotism stays alive forever in our hearts. The struggle for Independence did not end in 1947. It continued over the years in 1971 (Bangladesh War), 1999 (Kargil war) and then Operation Uri (2016), Operation Sindoor (2025) in the very recent times.
The book Caught in the Crossfire talks about a small boy Dhiman, based in Kolkata around the time when refugees escaping from East Pakistan / Bangladesh were entering India to save their lives. His father, a journalist, has gone to the Ground Zero to report the events while his mother is battling for life. Not having got any news from about his father’s whereabouts since many days, he sets out to find his father all alone to the warzone as he thinks only then can his mother be saved. Will he be able to get his father back? Will he survive the warzone or become a victim himself? In this journey he is helped by his new friend Ruhul who is also a refugee.
Themes touched upon by the book:
- Friendship- Ruhul & Dhiman’s friendship has been beautifully portrayed. Ruhul is an orphan and helps Dhiman.
- Emotions- The book talks about the emotions of young children – their curiosity, their fears, their bravery. It also talks about the emotional roller coaster ride faced by children due to war and disturbance in family among own people. It touches upon the various emotions experienced by a child – happiness of finding a new friend, fear of telling the folks at home of befriending a refugee, uneasiness because he has hidden it from his mother, courage to go to warzone to find his father, grief and much more.
- Social Stigmas & Social Pressures – The refugees were outcasted then and not accepted by the society. Parents stopped their children from being friends with refugee children. But this book shows how even they are pained and seek some support and care. The book has also touched upon the age-old dowry tradition and how it ate up the girl’s family funds trying to fulfil the demands.
- Courage & Bravery – It takes a lot of courage for a small boy to go to war-hit areas all alone in search of his father. Torn between fear, sadness and uncertainty, Dhiman gathers courage not only to go to Bangladesh, but also to speak against the social stigmas and stand up against the wrong.
Why the Book Stands Out
- Simple Language: The language used is simple with a mix of local Bengali terminologies and certain facts.
- Suspense: The book has the right amount of suspense which keeps the readers hooked till the end.
- An essence of History : The book handles heavy historical themes through gentle storytelling, making it easy for young readers to digest.
Overall Impression
I loved the book for one obvious reason – it’s based in Kolkata my home town. The author has used several regional words like chorchori (a traditional vegetable dish), talmichri (palm candy), teep (bindi), etc which helped me connect a lot with the book. I could clearly imagine Kolkata in 1971. Apart from this, the book despite being historical fiction gives young readers an insight into what must have happened back then and leaves the readers with one question – How long do we need to wait for real Independence? Independence, not only from war between India & Pakistan, but also from the social evils. The book reminds me of the famous poem by Rabindranath Tagore –
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
Other books in this series:
A Revolution in the Valley : A Novel of the Silent Valley Movement of 1973–1984 by Bijal Vachharajani. (read review HERE)
Darkness at Star Mills (Chronicles of Courage Series): A Novel of the Bombay Mill Strike of 1982 by Shabnam Minwalla (read review HERE)
If you enjoyed this review and wish to know more about Dhiman’s struggles, you can order the book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),
CLICK & BUY NOW!Disclaimer: Ayesha is a part of the #kbcReviewerSquad and received this book as a review copy from the publisher via kbc.
