All Those Who Wander-Kiran Manral

Book: All Those Who Wander
Author: Kiran Manral
Publisher: Amaryllis

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What if the past, present and future exist at once? What if you could rewrite your past? What if you could protect the child you were from the trauma you know she will have to live through? What if you were living infinite versions of the same life simultaneously? This is the story of Ana, who is at a different age each time we meet her. But who is Ana—is she really who she says she is? Through the multiple lives Ana used to be and will be, she grapples with the question of whether the past and the future can ever be changed? ‘All Those Who Wander’ turns the classic time-travel genre into a spine-tingling gorgeousness of who, what, when, where. Wouldn’t you take that one chance to heal your inner child? Kiran Manral's taut, gripping novel of looped time and non-sequential lives, of guilt and repercussions is for everyone who wishes they could rewrite their childhood, or have that one chance to heal their inner child.

The concept of the book is quite interesting and the plot keeps you hooked as we take the journey through space and time along with the characters. The story moves forth between years and we see how the time travel affects both the characters and the life they are living. The idea of multiple versions of oneself living in multiple times has been explored quite well. The idea of the protagonist trying to ensure that the pain she has lived through is not present in the lives of her alternate versions is quite noble, even though the price she pays for it is high. The book starts on a good note where we see that the Nayna from two different times face each other. As she tries to help her younger self, the complexity of the plot increases. What didn’t work for me in the book was the fact that the timelines become confusing and as the plot moves forward, the story starts getting muddled up and as a reader, it becomes quite a challenge to keep track of what is happening, in which timeline and to which version of Nayna. It would have helped if the concept that Kiran is using in the book would have been explored in a bit detail so that the connect with the story could have been better. The climax of the story is well executed and brings to the story to a close with an interesting finality.

The book primarily focuses on Nayna and her versions from different points in time and space as she attempts to move back and forth in time. The journey of self-discovery as she learns from her mistakes is told in a wonderful manner. Sukanya’s character was a good addition to the plot, and running her story in parallel with Nayna adds another level of detail to this story.

Overall, this is a book that deserves its own dedicated reading space, and as a recommendation, do take time while reading the book so as to appreciate the nuances. The book scores a 4/5 for me.

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