Reviews

Women Dreaming by Salma

mihrchand's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

This novel is yet another testament to why I love Tamil literature in translation. Tilted Axis made a brilliant decision to publish this; I simply would not have heard of it otherwise.

Emotionally charged, and not overtly optimistic, Women Dreaming is a masterpiece by Salma. I highly recommend it to all interested in South Asian literature in translation; don't hesitate to look up non-English terms as they add to the cultural specificity of this novel. To translate every word and idiom is to flatten, to make a story conform to the grammar of English, which I appreciate that Kandasamy has not done.

shutupdivs's review

3.0

not a fan of the writing style but found the story engaging. tbh can get insufferable at times and the ending disappointed me INCREDIBLY. 
wonder what got lost in translation

steffcook's review

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.75

charan's review

challenging emotional sad

• 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? Yes

1.75

deetalkz's review

5.0

Women, Dreaming is the translation of her Tamil novel Manaamiyangal, a story of three generations of Muslim women in rural Tamil Nadu who navigate their daily lives amidst oppression from men in the name of faith and honour. This is the story of three generations of women. Subaida, Asiya and Amina who have been beaten down by their circumstances and hence have grown accustomed to an oppression that is far beyond their scope of redemption. Parveen and Mehar who still have a spark of fight left in them. Sajida who is fighting for a future that she is consistently being told is beyond her scope of dreaming. It is the reflection of a society that sows the seed of discontentment in all genders because of the stereotypes we are forced to conform with.

https://wordpress.com/post/deetalkz.wordpress.com/3439

anushka_adishka_diaries's review

3.0

3.5 ⭐
“Will women not have some wishes, beliefs, and thoughts of their own–or should their minds and hearts not exist at all?”

namakurhea's review

2.0

*THIS HAS SPOILERS so read at ur own risk* ✨Read “Women Dreaming” for a buddy read!! It’s a story set in a village in Tamil Nadu and features a group of women and their struggle against patriarchy. When I say struggle against patriarchy, it’s the simple things like cannot leave house, cannot watch movie, cannot wear lipstick, cannot wear jewelry, cannot use contraceptive, cannot study in places other than madrasah... and all of this in order to preserve the ladies’ ‘purity’, male dominance, and in defence of the ‘divine’.

The first 100 pages was exciting because that was when the foundation was laid and I couldn’t wait to see these women break free from opression!!!!! ..... except that they didn’t. Yep. Well, not to the extent that I was expecting. The same up and down happened, the same tears, the same wails. For a book with a hopeful title, the whole story was actually..not. Ok here’s where I’m not sure if this was Salma’s intention in the first place: to be as ‘pragmatic’ as possible and show that the road to women emancipation is fragile and that future is bleak. If it was indeed her thesis then damn gurl. Even Rohinton Mistry isn’t this cruel with “The Fine Balance”.

Over time, the characters get a bit cartoony. We have this super-villain figure by the name of Hassan and a heroine with never ending supply of tears named Mehar. Too one-dimensional for my taste. The only characters with layers and development is Parveen and Sajida. Ok not that the author owes me the development of everyone but I mean...that is depressing.

All in all it was...meh for me. Promising premise. But no conclusion. Bleak. It felt too descriptive. While I guess some readers will like it and argue “well that is how it is in real life!!”...for me, if I wanted to read real life I will just read news. Anyway, looking forward to hear what my other buddy read fellas think of this book!

thebookemperor's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

febnalae's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Reading this book was so tiring; not in a way that this book bore me, but because I'm so sick of all the men in this book and how badly they treated the women.

My sympathy goes to all the women who are the victim of child marriage, who are not allowed to study and get education because men are afraid they cannot control women anymore, to the women who are treated badly by their husbands, to us women who are treated unfairly because of patriarchy. 

inkedinsummer's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.0