Review of “Perilous Journey” by Deependra Bhandari

Score: 96/100 (9.6 out of 10)

Perilous Journey by Deependra Bhandari joins an elite collection of fiction books to achieve a 9.6 score, becoming only the 11th novel to ever achieve this feat!

This remarkable and extraordinary novel follows Arjun, a young Nepali man whose quest for a better life leads him from the turmoil and poverty of Kathmandu to oppressive servitude (and slavery) in Kuwait. From there, we follow Arjun and his companions through their catastrophic trip to Haiti, derailed by a natural disaster, and their dangerous journey through wilderness of South America in hopes of reaching the United States—a land of dreams, promises, and opportunity.

This is the ULTIMATE SURVIVAL STORY!

This is a book in which characters must resort to using sticks and stones to ward off danger. This is a book in which they resort to eating worms and other bugs just to survive!

This is a book in which characters are faced with the prospect of losing their freedom, their dignity, and the sanctity of their bodies just for the hope of making it another second, another minute, another hour, another day. How much would you sacrifice just to see tomorrow?

When would you call it quits--enough is enough?

To say this book is tense and thrilling would be an understatement. Not since Prison Break or Breaking Bad have we consumed a work of fiction with such a fear of characters being discovered and caught!

It seems like behind every corner, there are traitors, bandits, human traffickers, cops looking for a bribes or a big catch, immigration control agents looking to fill a quota, “family friends” or “uncles” and others looking to exploit cheap labor, and other predatory forces.

This book explores the tragedy and predatory/exploitative nature of immigration, highlighting the plight of well-meaning, hardworking migrants just trying to better their lives. They are sadly victimized and preyed on from every angle—by smugglers, business owners, politicians, governments, gangs, bandits, law enforcement, and more.

In reading this book, you just can't help but feel like the whole world is against Arjun and migrants like him!

This book excels in practically every aspect: characters, plot, world-building, and pacing! Yes, the beginning was a little rough and it took a while to get going, but when it finally got going, it never let up!

So much of this book resonated with us (and are sure to resonate with the other readers): the hope for a better life, the quest to improve one's situation, the fight to survive the grind, the feeling of being persecuted, the feeling of being used and abused, the feeling like all the forces of the world are holding you back; the fear of failure, the fear of the unknown, the fear of uncertainty, and the hope for what might be.

Let's talk about some of the character who stood out to us the most.

Arjun is an excellent main protagonist. Relatable and sympathetic, Arjun is a good man who wants to honor himself and his family by finding better work abroad. He is distinctly courageous in the face of the many powerful, oppressive, abusive forces set against him.

For example, while in slavery in Kuwait, he is willing to risk it all to protect Julie (Maya), a maid, from being sexually exploited by Naseer, the sickening, disgusting, and despicable son of Ahmed, their “employer”/owner in Kuwait. Ahmed is also a basket case, serving as the primary antagonist and villain in the first half of the book, alongside Naseer and Uncle Kumar, the latter of whom essentially sold Arjun into slavery with a false dream.

Every novel needs great antagonists and villains, and this book is full of them! Ahmed, Naseer, and Uncle Kumar are just the tip of the iceberg.

By the way, Julie is another excellent character in this novel, though her physical presence in the book in short-lived, her impact is profound. She gives us some of the most tense moments in the book like when she's forced to sneak in and steal the passports, then disguise herself in Fatima (her owner's wife's) burka. Julie and Arjun also have GREAT chemistry together and are great nominees for “Best Couple!”

Anyway... Arjun also shows immense bravery and self-sacrifice when he tries to protect Maria (a little migrant girl he bonds with during the arduous trek through the Darien Gap) from being taken by bandits. Even when being brutally beaten and held at gunpoint, Arjun refuses to back down.

His immense sense of honor and class in dishonorable and classless situations (surrounded by dishonorable and classless people) help Arjun to stand out as a truly special character, someone we can get behind and root for.

This book is actually separated into two distinct parts: one that follows Arjun's life in Kuwait under Ahmed (coaxed by Uncle Kumar) and another, longer part that follows Arjun's perilous journey to America (coaxed by Uncle Bhakta).

This book also does a good job at showing how illegal migration works, showing how a kind of underground railroad network links different agents who aid in the process. It's anything but smooth, however, as there are many twists and turns!

Arjun and his group are constantly short on money, time, and resources, though they still fall victim to the many temptations along the way. For example, gambling—which offers another false hope and dream to chase—leads to characters squandering their money. The same for alcohol, which helps them to ease the suffering and have a moment of escape.

Something incredible about this book is how it points out the enormous disparity between those in affluent countries/situations versus those in impoverished and unstable ones. For example, in the middle of their seemingly endless suffering and arduous journey, they come upon Cartegena, “a beautiful port city on the Caribbean Sea. Along the seashore, they drove past large resort hotels, then along a narrow cobblestone street with quaint, very old, two-story attached houses, painted in bright yellow, blue, orange, or white. Arjun admired the unique, colorful stone houses with their second-floor balconies overflowing with bright flowers.”

These beautiful details are in stark contrast to the South African wilderness in the Darien Gap later on, which is full of swamps and marshes. However, even there, there are occasional beauties and wonders like lakes, streams, and rivers.

There are particular scenes in which characters try to catch boar and catfish, and we can't help but cheer them on and be happy for them!

It really makes you appreciate life and all of our modern conveniences.
The book talks about beach resorts, casinos, and big businesses—symbols of opulence, wealth, and excess—in contrast to characters who are just lucky to have shoes and something to eat that day.

The detention/prison system of the US-South American border is also explored in tragic and eye-opening detail as we are told how even the best, well-meaning migrants are still packed in with terrorists, gangsters, rapists, drug-dealers, and murderers. Some of them are chained “like buffalo,” which becomes a reoccurring motif in the book as Arjun recounts how he felt like a buffalo serving under Ahmed and how he turned vegetarian after seeing how a slaughtered buffalo was treated.

Speaking of being vegetarian, another admirable aspect of Arjun and his journey is how he still tried his best to maintain his religious faith (as a Hindu), trying to abstain from certain foods as much as possible (though it proved impossible at times).

Check it out on Amazon!