The storyline: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Readability: ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Characters/Narrators: ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that brought me literal chills, anxiety, or stress as much as this story did. This is the ideal horror audiobook if you are a fan of Asian horror movies. As soon as I finished listening to this audiobook, I watched the movie version of Evil Eye which was also so incredibly done. I could see why this audiobook made such a good movie for its dramatic and climactic nature.

Summary

Pallavi, an Indian woman, residing in California, aspires to make a living as a writer while balancing college and a job. Usha, her mother, who lives with her father in Delhi, India, is obsessed with finding the perfect partner for her 29-year-old daughter. Like most Asian mothers, she too believes in superstitions, horoscopes, and the evil eye, a terrible curse frowned upon her daughter even before her birth.

Pallavi desires a love marriage and absolutely hates arranged marriages. By chance, she meets the ideal prince charming: a young Indian entrepreneur residing in California—the ideal not only in her eyes but also in those of her mother. However, everything becomes perplexing for Pallavi and us as listeners, as Usha wishes to have the new prince charming removed from everyone’s lives.

You could assume that the mother goes a little too over the line with her obsessions. However, we also learn that Usha also has her reasons—a deep secret that only her husband is aware of. Could that be sufficient to defend her actions to Pallavi?

Format and the Narration

The story is delivered through phone calls and recorded conversations, which I thought were quite remarkable and ingeniously done. It contributed to the necessary dramatic effect of a horror narrative. Plus, it is only 1 hour and 38 minutes in length. The performers did an excellent job of narrating their respective roles. It was interesting how they brought these characters into life with just dialogues.

Conclusion

The portrayal of the love and the friendship between a mother and a daughter through the clashes between two generations was lovely. I want to acknowledge playwright Madhuri Shekar for her this excellent screenplay on The Evil Eye, the Audible original.