Book Review: The Swaraj Spy by Vijay Balan

This book is quite an enthralling debut work by the author Vijay Balan. It’s easy to grasp and provides a deeper understanding of the World War II era.

What to Expect?

Expect a captivating read of approximately 500 pages. Expect a book based on true events beautified with little fiction that takes you to Kumar Nair’s journey throughout his life. An enriching read that will keep you intrigued throughout.

Book Review

The story is about the life journey of Kumar Nair who after being dismissed from Colonial Paramilitary Unit carries a flourishing business. Afterwards moves to Singapore and then after the Singapore falls goes on to join a secret spy school.The story goes through the emotional turmoil that he faces at different stages of his life.

The story starts with the dilemma to choose between his duty and his inner calling and goes on to showcase his courage and determination when he was sent on a rescue mission.The author has described each and every scene in so detail that you feel like you are the one travelling along with him in his journey whether it’s about discussing the market scene or dresses worn by the people of his town.

He so aptly describes the whole aura of the era in which the story is placed that you feel like you are living there.Moreover his interaction with his family members including his mother, sisters and nephews gives us a glimpse of a tightly knit Indian family.

The main character is a man of principles and daring as well which can be seen through many choices that he made. For eg. making a road even though it resulted in a lawsuit or challenging the caste system.The story is not only about the struggle, the valour but it’s also about the emotions, love and friendship..It’s a heartwarming story of compassion and inner transformation.

The flow of narrative is lucid, and one incident follows the other without any unnecessary break so that the readers gain more interest while reading about his experiences and challenges.

Overall, the book is a good read and I am happy that I came across it. It would keep the readers glued to continue reading till the end.

And yes the author has used some beautiful lines from Rubaiyat quite a few times. One of them being:

There was a Door to which I found no Key..

There was a Veil past which I could not see.

Other Excerpts from the book which I really liked : 

• Humans often desire one thing but get completely the opposite from God. Let God’s wishes be fulfilled.
• Hope and fear are two sides of the same coin. If one doesn’t get you, the other will.
• Lofty thoughts can wait.Doing nothing will get me nowhere. Remember purposeful action? Now is the time.

So what are you waiting for ? Take action

Go on, read the book and do let me know in the comments what you thought of it!

About the Author

Vijay Balan was born in Ooty, India and moved to the United States for college. Vijay began his career in aerospace, including working on the Space Shuttle propulsion system. A rocket-scientist turned storyteller, an avid history buff himself,he enjoys using the written and spoken word to make arcane concepts easily understood.

This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program & I had received a copy of the book for reading. You can buy the book from Amazon