An Incurable Insanity by Simi K. Rao (  190 pages approx ) is a quintessential romantic fiction and  each and every bit of it is soaked in love…a love which a typical Indian girl feels for her husband  and vice-versa. In India, arrange marriage still has a stronger hold than the so-called love marriage and the protagonists of the story Ruhi Sharma and Shaan Ahuja   got married to each other following the stronger trend. Now it is a known fact to the viewers of Hindi films that if, in any case, the marriage ceremony happens to be screened in the first few minutes of the film, that is a clear  cue to the fact that this marriage is not going to be a normal one ! Accentuating the fact, this story also  takes a twist when  Shaan discloses  his secrets to his newly-married wife , Ruhi, that he has been forced in this marriage because of his father,  making her perplexed and almost a victim of the marriage.

Things begin to change as the plot shifts to LA and it seems that their marriage wouldn’t end up in a disaster.I like the the character of Ruhi , an epitome of Indian beauty who has high values and impeccable manners. The dilemma from which she suffers and the  myriad emotions in her character has been well described making her  quite lovable .  A management graduate , as she is , and perfectly groomed ,she tries her best to give life  a chance , and also a chance to the man  whom she has been wedded to without any pre-marriage courtship or intimacy. Her love for Shaan is indomitable but at the same time she is confused. Confused of her intention ,inclination and priorities. Someone may wonder how a grown-up girl can be so naive and gullible as the story proceeds  but try to imagine yourself in Ruhi’s shoe and  her character would appear rather cogent.

Shann, on the other hand , looks much more mature. Though in the beginning the reader finds him somewhat weak and as a man who lacks integrity as he succumbs to his father Shiv Ahuja. But later he stands up as a strong man of substance and a person who doesn’t hesitate to to call a spade a spade. He confronts his father , acts defiantly against that man whom he despises for his double standard and even declares that he hates to inherit any of his properties. He understands gradually the sanctity of the institution called ‘marriage’ and tries his best to inculcate in Ruhi the true sense of love and faith ,the foundation of a successful marriage.

Rao has successfully created the side-characters like Sujoy and Debo , a lovely Bengali couple who resides in LA. I personally liked that old lady Sunshine and her bird JJ. The characters of Des acts  in a typical manner and appears to be somewhat predictable with her conniving moves.

The author has a lucid style of story telling and she has portrayed all the characters with the same dedication , however small their part might be. Occasional use of Punjabi and Bengali words has made the dialogues all the more interesting and realistic. But sometimes it seems that the chapters are becoming unnecessarily lengthy and even monotonous making the plot flaccid . Rao could have make it much more precise and crisp had she cut some of the chapters which are instilled just to increase the size of the book . The climax, when it comes, already becomes very much predictable. However, a feeling of love and harmony hovers around  once the story ends  putting the reader at peace. I would like to recommend the book only to those who are ardent lovers of sweet , romantic novels and also to those fans of Yash Raj Films. 

From my side it’s 3.5/5 .

About The Author :
Simi K. Rao was born in India and has been living in the United States for several years. Her contemporary romance novel An Incurable Insanity, published by Tate Publishing, was released on October 8, 2013. An Incurable Insanity is her first foray into writing. The inspiration for the story came from what she has seen transpire among and within the immigrant community. Some of the experiences included are her own; some have been garnered from friends and casual conversations with acquaintances. She also writes poetry, is an avid photographer, loves to travel, and is a practicing physician. She currently lives in Denver with her family.