This paper is a humble attempt to study distinguished perspectives in the novel Eighteen Inches Apart, an exploration of love, longing, loss and memory that keeps alive the central protagonists to survive the battle of life, look for an alternative support system and make a new beginning.
The plot moves to two places, Calcutta and London, much like Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, London and Paris, where both sets of characters are affected by the French Revolution but in different ways. Similarly, through the parallel life stories of Leela and Neil, Sonia Bahl delineates their lives, whose paths had unintentionally converged almost 12 years ago, how they both lost their partners, and how they meet again at the end of the novel. The paper elucidates the gay and grey moments of their lives, a blend of joys and sorrows. It also focuses on the lives of protagonists, which can be the life of anyone; thus, a universal aspect of literature is defined through the narrative.