Sold by Patricia McCormick is a 2006 novel, which takes us to the journey of a young Nepalese girl to Asia’s largest red-light area, Sonagachi.
Since the book comprises a series of very short chapters, it may be finished within a couple of hours by an average reader.
The strong characters and engrossing story-line further facilitate the reading.
Some of the chapters are as short as a line or two, nonetheless heavy.
They are written in a simple and, at times, poetic language, adding to the authenticity of already strong characters.
The pauses are pregnant with emotions, and even the lack of language speaks for itself.
Sold, written in the first-person narrative, details the journey that poor Lakshmi takes to the city, which she imagines to be full of hopes and wish-fulfillment opportunities.
Some of the chapters in Sold distinctly stand out in terms of powerful writing: Another Calendar (Page 18), Everything I Need to Know (Page 21), Maybe (Page 33), Next (Page 71), Hunger (Page 117), Everything I Need to Know Now (Page 147), and Monster (Page 237).
As part of her research for the book, Patricia “traced the path that many Nepalese girls have taken – from remote villages to the red-light districts of Calcutta” and also interviewed many aid workers and survivors.
The descriptions are precise and the stories of each of the characters involved are heart-wrenching.
The book describes the journey of one’s becoming in such a way that reader grows along with the character.
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Sold has the potential to comfort the discomforted, and discomfort the comforted ones. It is succinct, moving, and full of powerful imagery.
