Works Like Magic

A striking aspect of Tasha Suri’s debut novel is the fact that the primary male characters do not make a proper appearance for the initial fifty-odd pages. Revolving around a number of female characters, including the protagonist Mehr, the narrative emerges from within women’s chambers, from behind veils, and through their eyes.

The story follows Mehr, a strong-willed girl with a gift for ritualistic magic that can persuade the gods, on her journey of self-realisation. Partly belonging to the nearly wiped-out Amrithi people, she fights prejudice and malice, not once giving up on her dignity. Through Mehr’s quest, we enter a charmed land of glowing creatures and fiery storms. And in this land, we ponder if love binds or sets us free, if fear constricts or gives us hope. We question if free will is a privilege even for the gods, whom we humans have bound to do our bidding through prayers and rituals.

In emphasising the minutest of details, the author has created a narrative that we can leisurely savour, but a back-and-forth structure-with the plot moving from one setting to another-would have paced the story well, offering insightful and much-needed glimpses of what the various characters shaping the tale are up to. Similarly, delving deeper into the life and purpose of each character would have provided a more nuanced context to the scheme of things. Although interesting, many of the characters are merely a shadow of themselves-like dark and faint shadows being cast on the pages of sand by the sometimes bright, sometimes blazing voice of the author.

The vastness of multiple settings, the use of ritualistic dance and sigils, and the recurring motifs of light and darkness, blood, and sand, add a strong visual persona to this magical tale. Oscillating between mythological fiction and period fantasy-for the novel has been inspired by India’s Mughal era-Empire of Sand presents the realm of gods and their dreams and the world of humans and their beliefs through the stormy themes of freedom, bondage, and power.

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