This Is On Record Review: A Story That Feels Uncomfortably Real

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.3 out of 5)

There are some books you finish and immediately start recommending to people because they are entertaining. And then there are books that make you sit there for a while, staring at the wall, thinking about how often people suffer in plain sight while everyone else keeps functioning normally.

This Is On Record: A Woman’s Fight To Be Heard by Sumadra belongs to the second category.

I have been reviewing books for years now, and I honestly think workplace harassment stories are very difficult to write well. Either they become too preachy, too dramatic, or they reduce the emotional reality into slogans. But this book does something more uncomfortable. It shows how systems wear people down slowly. Not just through one incident, but through disbelief, gossip, institutional language, social isolation, and the exhaustion of constantly explaining your own pain.

And maybe that is why this book affected me the way it did.

There is a scene early in the novel where Rupali is speaking to Gajanand after a humiliating incident involving Manohar Dey. She keeps repeating herself, trying to make him understand the seriousness of what happened. But his responses feel hesitant, vague, procedural. Reading those pages honestly made my chest tight. I have seen conversations like this happen in real life. Not word for word, maybe. But emotionally? Yes. Absolutely.

The fear of not being believed. The fear of being labelled “difficult.” The fear that speaking up will somehow become a bigger crime than the harassment itself.

This book understands that fear deeply.

What This Is On Record Is About

At the center of This Is On Record is Rupali Sinha, an assistant professor who files a complaint after a colleague makes sexually inappropriate remarks toward her during a workplace meeting. She believes the institution will protect her. Instead, the institution begins protecting itself.

What follows is not a courtroom thriller or a sensational drama. It feels much more personal than that. The novel unfolds through diary entries, formal complaints, internal conversations, phone calls, letters, interviews, and reflections. I actually liked this structure a lot because it mirrors how real workplace cases often exist. Not as one clean narrative, but as fragments. Statements. Messages. Emotional breakdowns. Official language mixed with private suffering.

One chapter that genuinely struck me was “Unlocking the Strength Within,” where Rupali receives a deeply emotional letter encouraging her not to back down. In lesser hands, this could have become melodramatic. But here, it feels believable because of how emotionally shattered Rupali already is by that point. The reassurance matters because the world around her has already started making her doubt herself.

Then there are chapters like “From Whisper to Wildfire” and “Built on Lies, Broken by Reality,” where the office gossip begins spreading. These sections felt painfully accurate. Not because everyone becomes cartoonishly evil, but because people react the way people often do in real life. Some support her privately but avoid standing beside her publicly. Some instantly defend the accused because “he was always respectful to me.” Some demand proof before empathy. Some become neutral observers because neutrality feels safer.

Honestly, the book’s understanding of workplace psychology surprised me.

And then later, when Rupali appears on a televised discussion in “Breaking Silence,” the narrative shifts again. By that point, she is no longer just fighting one man. She is fighting an entire culture that normalises silence.

What Stood Out To Me

The first thing that stood out to me was the structure.

Sumadra does not rely on traditional chapter storytelling throughout. The use of complaint letters, diary fragments, interviews, conversations, and official documentation gives the novel a documentary like texture. Sometimes it almost feels intrusive, like you are reading someone’s real personal file instead of fiction.

I think that was intentional.

The formal complaint chapter especially hit hard because of how restrained the language is. Rupali writes professionally, carefully, almost apologetically. And yet underneath that professionalism you can feel humiliation, anger, and desperation bleeding through every line.

That contrast worked brilliantly for me.

Another thing I appreciated was that the book does not make every supporting character identical. Sanjay believes her strongly. Urmila is skeptical and worried about false accusations. Keval keeps insisting on “facts.” Gajanand represents institutional hesitation. None of them feel fully heroic or fully villainous. They feel human. Frustratingly human, honestly.

In my years reading social issue fiction, I have noticed that many writers simplify conflict too much. Good people versus bad people. Victim versus monster. But real workplaces are messier than that. People worry about reputation, power structures, job security, public perception, and social consequences all at once. This novel captures that messiness very well.

I also want to mention the language.

The prose is direct. Emotional. Sometimes repetitive. But strangely, the repetition works because trauma itself is repetitive. Victims often replay incidents mentally again and again, trying to understand them, justify them, or survive them. Rupali’s internal voice reflects that emotional loop.

There are moments where the writing could have been tighter. A few sections repeat the same emotional idea multiple times. Some conversations also stretch longer than necessary. But honestly, I did not mind it too much because emotionally the book remained sincere throughout.

And sincerity matters.

Especially in a story like this.

The Emotional Core Of The Book

For me, the emotional center of This Is On Record is not actually the harassment incident itself.

It is isolation.

That gradual feeling that the room changes after you speak up.

The book captures this beautifully in the “Rising from the Ashes” sections where Rupali writes about people lowering their voices around her, avoiding eye contact, pretending neutrality while silently participating in her isolation. Those pages felt incredibly raw. There is anger there, yes. But also exhaustion. Loneliness. Self doubt.

One line that really stayed in my mind was her frustration about needing to “prove” discomfort to people who were never there emotionally for her in the first place. I think many readers, especially women working in institutional spaces, will recognise that emotional burden immediately.

At the same time, the novel does not drown entirely in despair.

There are small moments of solidarity throughout the story. Anonymous support messages. Colleagues who secretly believe her. Audience members asking thoughtful questions during the televised interview. The sense that even when systems fail, individual human beings can still create pockets of courage.

And maybe that balance is what stopped the book from becoming emotionally unbearable.

I also appreciated that the novel expands the conversation beyond one individual case. During the later interview chapters, Rupali speaks about POSH laws, institutional accountability, workplace retaliation, mental health, and why victims hesitate to report harassment. These sections could have easily become lecture heavy, but because they emerge naturally from her experience, they still feel emotionally grounded.

Reading this in 2026 feels especially relevant because workplaces today love talking about safety and inclusion publicly. But books like this remind us that policies on paper mean very little if the culture underneath remains broken.

Who Should Read This Book

I think This Is On Record will connect strongly with readers who appreciate emotionally driven social fiction.

If you enjoy books built around internal conflict, institutional politics, diary style storytelling, and morally uncomfortable situations, this one will probably work for you.

It may especially resonate with women working in corporate spaces, academia, media, or hierarchical organisations where reputation often matters more than truth. Honestly, I could also see HR professionals, educators, and law students finding value in this story because it shows how workplace dynamics function beneath official procedures.

That said, this might not be the ideal book for readers looking for fast moving plot twists or escapist fiction. The narrative is emotionally heavy. Some chapters feel intentionally repetitive because they mirror emotional exhaustion and bureaucratic cycles.

But if you are willing to sit with that discomfort, there is something deeply human here.

And important too.

Final Thoughts

I think what impressed me most about This Is On Record was its refusal to simplify pain.

Sumadra understands that injustice is rarely dramatic all the time. Often it is procedural. Social. Administrative. It hides inside meetings, rumours, delayed responses, fake neutrality, polite emails, and institutional image management.

The book asks difficult questions without pretending to have easy answers.

• What happens when speaking the truth costs more than silence?
• What happens when institutions protect themselves first?
• What happens to a person who keeps fighting even after people start treating her like the problem?

Those questions linger long after the final pages.

As an editor at Deified Publication, I read many books every month. Some are technically polished but emotionally empty. Some are emotionally powerful but structurally weak. This Is On Record lands somewhere meaningful in between. It is imperfect in places, yes. A few sections could have benefited from tighter editing. But emotionally, it feels honest. And honesty carries a different kind of power.

I genuinely think readers are going to talk about this one.

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FAQ

Is This Is On Record worth reading?

Yes, especially if you appreciate emotionally intense social fiction rooted in real workplace dynamics. It is not light reading, but it feels meaningful and relevant.

What genre is This Is On Record by Sumadra?

The book sits somewhere between literary fiction, social drama, and institutional realism. It also uses diary entries, letters, and interview formats throughout the narrative.

Who should read This Is On Record?

Readers interested in workplace politics, women centric fiction, emotional survival stories, and books about institutional power structures will probably connect deeply with it.

Is This Is On Record based on a true story?

The novel feels extremely realistic because of its detailed emotional and procedural writing style, though it is presented as fiction.