Reviews

The Light at the End of the World by Siddhartha Deb

heynonnynonnie's review against another edition

A little too fever dream for my current mood. I am still intrigued, but I feel bad sitting on a library loan that I'm not in the mood for when there's a wait list. 

eclark93's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

shamilton4's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s not advertised as horror but I found this to be a deeply unsettling book! 

gralleigh2023's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Siddhartha Deb's novel is a complex, ambitious and sprawling work of speculative fiction that weaves a narrative stretching backwards and forwards in time to encompass themes of colonial India, partition, technology, Hindutva , underground resistance (and monkey-men). Told as four interlinked novellas, the form reminded me of Shubangi Swarup's beautiful 'Latitudes of Longing' or Pitchaya Sudbanthad's gorgeous 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' both of which I loved. This book is surreal, gnarly and fantastical, definitely worth the trip.

trashthatmatters's review

5.0

Absolutely amazing. A must read. The writing is so so good, densely layered, frenetic, lyrical. It seems like a work that needs to be read out loud. I loved it. It wasn't an easy read but its so worth it. 

jsweeneyy's review

slow-paced

4.0

this book is very dense, so much so that I had to listen to it twice to fully comprehend the story. I thoroughly enjoyed both listens, and I recommend it to anyone who likes speculative fiction; Orwell's 1984 meets the fiction of Monica Byrne. 

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This story tried too hard to be too many things. I couldn't keep up with the storyline, and I couldn't wait for it to be over.

jpog_blue's review

inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

clemist's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0