Endurer by Kapil Raj | Book Review

Endurer: A Rape Story

Author: Kapil Raj
Publisher: Write India

They are all innocent until proven guilty. But not me. I am a liar until I am proven honest.”
― Louise O’Neill, Asking For it

These words explicitly describe the torture of a woman who has been raped goes through. After being physically abused, begins the process of her mental torturing.

What were you wearing?
Were you drunk?
What you were doing there so late at the night?
And, all sorts of other insensitive questions.

Her plight doesn’t end here, she has to hand over her ‘in pain body” to testify the rape.

The book “Endurer: A Rape Story” depicts the life of a young girl named Palak for whom like any other girl of her age, life is a fun-fed roller coaster: Newfound love, drugs, crushes, patch-ups, night-outs, unplanned trips, in simple words everything seems sorted.

Things were going fine until one day she attends a rave party and after getting into her senses realizes that she has been raped. To add to her misery, her sex video with her friend Rohin goes viral. Every nook of the college has become a gossiping place about her. The irony is that it is the same Rohin, whom she had entrusted with taking care of her in case she loses control.

Rohin who was blamed for all the chaos has had the worst of childhood, completely filled with fear. He started doping to keep the fear inside and had developed a mask with suppressed and bottled up feelings. He was unable to believe that a sniff of coke can lead him to lose his senses and play with the sanctity of a girl who had trusted her.

To make life easy for Palak, he takes her away from the eyes of the insensitive society and in the meantime begins his efforts of connecting the dots to frame what had actually conspired that night.

Palak, on the other hand, is numb to any action or emotion. The tormenting vivid flashbacks of the night further make life worse for her. She wants to avenge her plight but the thought of insensitive questioning from the police and long fight in court is a deterrent for her.

In a parallel world, Palak comes across Sethani and Meethi who have undergone similar horror from their husband and brother respectively but have chosen to live.

She finds some solace in them.

Did Rohin really break Palak’s trust?
Did Palak find the actual culprits and take her revenge?
Will life ever be the same for her?

Grab a copy of this beautiful book and read the story of this courageous girl, who can actually be an inspiration to the multitude and an eye-opener to the society.
Trust me, the ending will give you goosebumps.