I discovered ‘Forbidden’ by Tabitha Suzuma through the review of fellow blogger Kelly from Kelly Vision. (Thanks Kelly J) The premise behind the story pulled me in and I couldn’t resist the book. I got the book last week and though I was busy during the beginning of the week, I got into the book towards the end of the week and finished it in a couple of days. This is what I think.
What I think
Lochan and Maya are in their late teens and are the eldest children in their family. They have two brothers and a sister. Their parents are divorced. Their dad has gone to live in Australia with his new wife. Their mom is an alcoholic, is a waitress in a restaurant and is seeing the owner of the restaurant. She doesn’t have time for her children and is not at home most of time, after work. This puts a lot of pressure on Lochan and Maya, as, though they are children, they have to act like adults and take care of their younger siblings and also cover up for their mother. As otherwise, social services might step in and that would be the end of them as a family unit. While doing this, the unexpected happens. Lochan and Maya fall in love with each other. They know it is incestuous and forbidden, and they try to ignore it and try to find other partners, but it doesn’t work. Then they learn to live with their feelings for each other, always worried about what will happen to them and their family if their secret comes out. The story lurches from crisis to crisis with tender moments in between. One worries about the fates of Lochan and Maya and wants them to be happy in the end. But one fears that things may not go that way. And that turns out to be true. The ending is tragic and heartbreaking. It made me cry. In the final few pages, I could feel the author pause, while she thought what to do – whether she should deal a double blow by inflicting another tragedy on the reader or whether she should take the opposite route and have a life-affirming ending. By that time I knew that things were not going to be happy, either way. A double blow was going to make me cry more, though it probably wouldn’t feel as hard as the first one. A life-affirming ending would be something which would continue the status quo of the story in a more difficult situation. I felt the author move her pen (or her hands over the keyboard) after the pause and choose the second one. It was disappointing in a way – because what it meant was that the nice characters in the story whom we cared for and rooted for from the beginning were going to continue to suffer and struggle in silence, while the not-so-nice characters were going to continue to be irresponsible and have fun. It felt so unfair. But I wouldn’t blame the author for that. When the choice is between the devil and the deep sea or a rock and a hard place, it is difficult to pick one.
I read a little bit about Tabitha Suzuma, after I read the book. I was surprised that such a talented author like her, who didn’t shy away from controversial topics, was not so well-known before. I liked the things I read about her. I liked the fact that she was British – the YA landscape has so few British writers (except for the YA fantasy landscape which has more than a few) that it felt like a whiff of fresh air. It was also interesting to know that Suzuma also has a Japanese background as her father was Japanese. Which is also unique, I think, because there are no Japanese origin YA writers that I know of. I also read that Suzuma has four siblings and she is the eldest and her family was beset with problems when she was growing up and all the children went through a depressive phase during their childhood. Her experience comes out in the book as parts of it look like they might have been based on actual experience – they look so genuine and real. Lochan, though he plays the role of a parent at home, is painfully shy at school and the way Suzuma depicts it is sensitive and realistic. I could identify with some of that, as I too was a painfully shy guy at school.
This is the second heartbreaking love story that I have read in the last few months. I don’t know what it is between me and heartbreakers, but we seem to be having a love affair.
‘Forbidden’ is an unconventional love story. It explores the limits of what is possible and what is not, in human relationships, and asks questions on why we believe what we believe and how social rules have evolved and what happens when we try breaking them or crossing a line in the sand. ‘Forbidden’ is also the story of a family which tries to stay together through good times and bad and the compromises it has to make and the battles it has to fight to have the simple life, the pleasures and the comforts that many of us take for granted.
If you like a good love story, are not worried about taboo topics, and don’t mind a heartbreaking ending, you will love this book. As for myself, I want to explore more of Suzuma’s books.
Before ending, I will leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
I wonder what it would be like to be shut up in this airless glass box, slowly baked for two long months by the relentless sun, able to see the outdoors – the wind shaking the green trees right there in front of you – hurling yourself again and again at the invisible wall that seals you off from everything that is real and alive and necessary, until eventually you succumb: scorched, exhausted, overwhelmed by the impossibility of the task. At what point does a fly give up trying to escape through a closed window – do its survival instincts keep it going until it is physically capable of no more, or does it eventually learn after one crash too many that there is no way out? At what point do you decide that enough is enough?
Have you read ‘Forbidden’? What do you think about it?
I remember this book had a lot of buzz when it came out but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it at that time .I was way over saturated with YA for a while 🙂 The theme is appealing though and by reading your review I have understood that the writer has been successful in touching the reader’s heart. Will watch out for her books 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Shweta 🙂 Glad to know that you liked the review. I rarely read YA books, and so I treat myself to one, once in a while. Hope you get to read this book. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Interesting review! This book has been cropping up all over the place and really I must read it soon I think.
I hope you get to read this book and like it, Amy. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it 🙂
I love that Suzuma wasn’t afraid to explore such a taboo subject. I’m a big believer in the fact that everything that happens to humans, no matter how shocking, does belong in literature. I was also interested to hear about the author’s background – sometimes I feel that the YA panorama in the UK is even more lacking in diversity than in the US, so it’s great to hear about a new author to seek out.
I loved what you said, Ana – that ‘everything that happens to humans, no matter how shocking, does belong to literature’. If you do get to read this book, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
I can see myself reading this. (No witches and magic!) Thank you for warning us about the heart breaking journey it will be when we read it. Thanks, friend!
Glad to know that you liked the review, Linda 🙂 Hope you get to read this book and like it. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
it sounds so tragically touching. i like that you felt that the author paused before carrying on, choosing her ending almost as difficult for her to make, as it must be for the reader to read.
good to hear there’s a YA female Brit author out there.
Yes, it was really tragically touching, Monica. I felt very sad in the end. Hope you get to read this book and like it. If you do get to read it I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
I’ve never heard of this one before, but you did a good job of explaining it to me, so I almost feel as if I’ve read it now! I loved when you imagined the writer’s hand hovering over the keyboard – I know exactly what you mean! Sometimes you can feel the writer’s dilemma.
As it happens I just finished reading a book about a brother and sister’s love for each other – Brenton Brown by Alex Wheatle. In Wheatle’s first book, Brixton Rock, the two characters fell in love but decided they couldn’t stay together. This book catches up with them about 20 years later, when they have moved on with their lives but still haven’t lost their feelings for each other. Unfortunately I’m not as up-to-date with my reviewing as you are, so it’ll probably be a while before I post my thoughts on the book, but I’d recommend it anyway!
Glad to know that you liked the review, Andrew 🙂 If you do get to read this book, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks for mentioning Alex Wheatle’s books. I remember reading about Alex Wheatle in your blog and from your description, his books look quite fascinating! I will add them to my ‘TBR’ list. I can’t wait to read your review of ‘Brenton Brown’!
Oh Vishy, this sounds very interesting. It’s not often you find incestuous relationships dealt with in any way except via the taboo, so that’s unusual. The quote you give at the end is briliant – I love the image of the trapped fly.
Glad to know that you like the look of the book, Sarah. If you get to read it, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. That passage is so beautiful, isn’t it?
[…] Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma […]
Forbidden took me about five or six days to get through, which is quite unusual for me, but Tabitha Suzuma’s novel about the most forbidden kind of love – incest – between a brother and a sister is all kinds of uncomfortable and heartbreaking and the kind of book that makes the reader rethink everything they have ever believed
[…] read Tabitha Suzuma’s ‘Forbidden’ last year. I liked it so much that I wanted to explore other works of hers. Whenever I discover a […]
It’s so daring to choose a topic like this, isn’t it. I like that very much when a writer doesn’t shy away from this risk. I’m looking forward to reading it after having read your beuatiful review. I wonder if she knew from the start what ending she was going to give them.
Hope you enjoy reading ‘Forbidden’, Caroline. Will look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. I keep wondering whether the author knew at the start how she was going to end the story or whether the story took a life of its own after the start and took the author to the end.
[…] reading Tabitha Suzuma’s ‘Forbidden’, and then her ‘A Note of Madness’ and ‘A Voice in the Distance’, I have been waiting for […]
I just found out about this book and was interested to read your review. This autho does sound remarkable l wonder which of her books I can bear to read.
I hope you get to read this book and like it, Valorie. It is unconventional and powerful. I also loved Tabitha Suzuma’s first book ‘A Note of Madness’. It is about a young musician battling depression is very beautiful, feels very real and scary.
Thanks, Vishy.