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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
The story had glimmers of hope, but just wasn't captivating enough
Selection Day is a wonderful story set largely in the poorest parts of India and filled with complex and interesting characters. It is the story of a father's passionate hopes for his sons to rise above his own station in life and become heroes in the world of cricket. The father places extreme pressures on his sons to fulfill the dream he has for them and, by association, to experience the glory of having his children become cricket idols. It is the story of how the father's single-minded drive impacts on his sons' relationships with him, with each other, with the wider community and with the game of cricket, itself. It is also a story about prejudice and acceptance, denial and acknowledgement and ultimately the realisation that we are the product of all our experiences. Highly recommended. Thanks to Scribner and Netgalley for the ARC.
I wanted to love this book, but found it slow to read.
I've put off writing this review, not because I hated this but because I wanted to love it. But really I sort of struggled to finish this.
Manju's older brother Radha is supposed to be the next cricket superstar, at least according to their father. The brothers are subjected to strict rules regarding diet, practice, physical fitness, shaving, driving, sleeping, drugs, and well, having any sort of childhood. The boys get sponsored (legally, illegally?) and with an elevation in status get access to better schools and coaches. One major flaw in the plan is that Manju is a better batsman than his brother. This truth complicates their relationships, in part because Manju doesn't really want to be the next big cricket superstar.
Adiga has a powerful and unique narrative voice. It worked beautifully in White Tiger, and feels less successful here. Focusing on the brother who has the gifts but doesn't want them and not at all on Radha, who desperately wants to be successful, doesn't allow for page turning tension.
Without that relationship full explored, this just feels like a boring book about cricket.
Manju's older brother Radha is supposed to be the next cricket superstar, at least according to their father. The brothers are subjected to strict rules regarding diet, practice, physical fitness, shaving, driving, sleeping, drugs, and well, having any sort of childhood. The boys get sponsored (legally, illegally?) and with an elevation in status get access to better schools and coaches. One major flaw in the plan is that Manju is a better batsman than his brother. This truth complicates their relationships, in part because Manju doesn't really want to be the next big cricket superstar.
Adiga has a powerful and unique narrative voice. It worked beautifully in White Tiger, and feels less successful here. Focusing on the brother who has the gifts but doesn't want them and not at all on Radha, who desperately wants to be successful, doesn't allow for page turning tension.
Without that relationship full explored, this just feels like a boring book about cricket.
I've been trying to read more books that I normally wouldn't read. It has resulted in some bad reads, but this one was not. I quite enjoyed the story and the characters. A very interesting read.
I will agree with other reviewers that this book was grabbed hoping to learn more about cricket, but honestly there wasn't as much cricket as there was conversations about cricket. The MC does go from being a young questioning kid to a cricket player questioning his sexuality, life, self worth... I can't say that I really understood the message the writer was trying to share, but I saw that Netflix picked up the novel for a movie. Planning to watch just to see how the book plays on film.
Very very okay. There was cricket and family drama and mentally unstable characters. I could've done with more cricket. And family drama where the involved parties aren't almost completely withdrawn.
Adiga's prose bores me. It's not very detailed and a bit heavy on... uhh... symbolism? Heavy on something or other.
Adiga's prose bores me. It's not very detailed and a bit heavy on... uhh... symbolism? Heavy on something or other.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes