Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

20 reviews

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, and Classism

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, and Cursing

Minor: Ableism, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

sarahaf712's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Colonisation, Racism, and Racial slurs

Content warnings: victim blaming; sex work

house_of_hannah's review against another edition

hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This is June's choice for the local book club I'm in. I was quite interested in it based on the description, but wow is this book slow paced. Not a lot happens until the climax of the story, and even that is pretty short lived. 

I was alright with this at first though. I found the first third of the book to be fascinating as I learned about henna, the caste system of India, and their everyday lives. I rather liked the main character, Lakshmi, so it was interesting to see how she survived after running away as a teenager. 

However, her 13 year old sister, Radha, changed a lot on how I feel about this book. At first she was a very sympathetic character. She had lost her parents, discovered her long-lost sister, and had nothing to her name. She quickly starts acting like a spoiled brat though, and no matter what Lakshmi sacrifices it isn't good enough for her. I was so annoyed at how this selfish child, who wanted to act like an adult, was causing so many problems that I just couldn't enjoy the book anymore. 

The writing style is very descriptive and vibrant. This was ok for the first half of the book, but by the end I was a bit bored, and found myself skimming over the excessive descriptions. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Infertility, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Misogyny, and Grief

Minor: Bullying and Sexual assault

booksandprosecco's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Minor: Suicide

teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

When I first say this book I thought it was beautiful. I bought it came out. And then sadly I let it sit on my shelf until now. I was looking forward to it, so when I got an ARC for the second novel, I decided I needed to prioritize it. Now I am looking forward to picking the second one up shortly. I look forward to anything that Joshi writes in the future, she is a very talented writer.

This story is about challenges and triumphs and never giving up on your dreams. It is also about being true to yourself and accepting your past for what it has taught you.

The themes are a plenty and the characters are rich and lovely and engaging. The writing is beautiful, you wouldn't know that this is Joshi's first novel. Right from the start, I was pulled in and looked forward to any pages I could get in when I had a moment. I loved the cultural aspect as well as the atmosphere that was built. I learned about the art f henna and its significance. This book taught me something and I hold it dear just for that.

It was a beautiful read and I think many historical fiction lovers would enjoy it.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault

aseel_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

3.75 

i really enjoyed the writing and atmosphere, Jaipur was described so vividly!! i liked the array of characters we had. the plot was quite evenly paced, but some things were a bit hard to believe, so it didn't get four stars 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Medical content

jillterry22's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautiful. The writing, the character development, all beautiful. I listened to this on audiobook, and I felt transported to Jaipur, India. I don't say this often, but I think I will need to reread this again. Just beautiful. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Abortion

ashylibrarian's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was a whirlwind of emotions and events. I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook and after the first few chapters, I was interested to learn more. 

The main cast of characters is dynamic. Lakshmi's character is probably the most dynamic in both self-discovery and personal growth as well as her relationships with the other characters. The ladies she worked for are all pretty flat, but their relationships with Lakshmi were one of the most interesting parts of the story for me. Lakshmi's use of herbal medicine and henna to heal these women was amazing. 

Lakshmi's story was really engaging, as well. She runs away from her husband and family to start a safer, more independent life for herself, begins her own henna business, and creates a name for herself through her powerful medicinal herbs.

After all of this, her husband seeks her out and brings her a sister she didn't know she had. This obviously throws things off for Lakshmi, but the way she adapts her life and tries to create success for herself, Malik, and Radha shows her character as strong and resilient.

 

The plot is also complex. There seem to be many things happening at once, but not overwhelmingly. And the display of Indian culture through henna is really interesting. I loved learning more about henna and the helpful functions and uses of the medicinal herbs Lakshmi uses.

One big downfall for me, though, is that there is the big cliche of "I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding" that came up multiple times throughout the book. Does it ruin a story? No. Do I find the overused cliches annoying? Yes.

After finishing this book, I felt like I had so much in my mind, but I don't seem to have a lot to say about it. I liked it and enjoyed listening to it, but I  didn't love it. I might edit this review in the future, but for now, here are my thoughts. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Blood

Abortion, prostitution, child prostitution, classism

solenodon's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Sexism

je_re_la's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Physical abuse and Sexism

Abortion