Scan barcode
lizzie_maxfield's review against another edition
challenging
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Prettily written but a pittiful portrayal or people with Downs
alcyon_alcyon's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Listened to the overwrought narration, which probably served the story well but definitely is not my cup of tea. Some touching details about interactions between the sisters were mildly compelling, but the plot seemed contrived and the story overall seemed devoid of character development. A gifted screenwriter and director could salvage the whole mess and make a fine movie of it. Also I appreciated that the violence against women that I expected to form the dramatic turning point of the book did not in fact come to be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty
fillyjonk_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
The cities are SO ALIVE . She's very annoying, but also very real. Lots of drama about the dogs
nikireadsstuff's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
4.0
katara42's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
spinstah's review against another edition
4.0
An introspective, quiet story. The tone and pacing helps to put you in the mood I imagine the main character would have been in much of the time.
per_fictionist's review against another edition
4.0
Review : Small Days and Nights by Tishani Doshi pursues the story of Grace, who returns home to Paramankeni, a small coastal village in Madras after her failed marriage in America and upon hearing the sudden news of her mother's death. What makes Grace's story special is that it is ordinary.
Having had a normal and almost happy childhood being the only daughter of her parents, Grace is stuck by a blow when she learns that she has a sister back in India, who was kept a secret from her and the world, due to her condition i.e Down's Syndrome.
Grace who always felt a tinge of melancholy and sadness, for not having one to share her her happiness and sorrows with someone in the family like her other friends did, decides to stay back in India and care for her sister. She makes up her mind to settle in her mother's old house along with her sister, the housekeeper Mallika and their pet dogs.
Grace, as a person has always felt a sense of hollowness in her heart and as starts her new life in India, she decides to give herself a chance at life, trying her luck at with a new relationship.
But her life in India, isn't a smooth sail, curious stares from the villagers, inability to make her sister feel at home at times , aching thoughts of her already strained marriage and the judgement that she faces from herself within makes her restless.
Doshi with brilliance sketches various themes in her story like kindness and compassion that Grace and Lucia shows towards their pets, the difficult life Grace as a single woman faces in a small village filled with not so open-minded villagers , the exceptional care that a mentally disabled person requires that Grace finds rather challenging to figure out.
The writing has a lyrical emotion to it . The sea and its rage and calm is outlined with utmost fragility that is bound to stay with you for a moment too long
Having had a normal and almost happy childhood being the only daughter of her parents, Grace is stuck by a blow when she learns that she has a sister back in India, who was kept a secret from her and the world, due to her condition i.e Down's Syndrome.
Grace who always felt a tinge of melancholy and sadness, for not having one to share her her happiness and sorrows with someone in the family like her other friends did, decides to stay back in India and care for her sister. She makes up her mind to settle in her mother's old house along with her sister, the housekeeper Mallika and their pet dogs.
Grace, as a person has always felt a sense of hollowness in her heart and as starts her new life in India, she decides to give herself a chance at life, trying her luck at with a new relationship.
But her life in India, isn't a smooth sail, curious stares from the villagers, inability to make her sister feel at home at times , aching thoughts of her already strained marriage and the judgement that she faces from herself within makes her restless.
Doshi with brilliance sketches various themes in her story like kindness and compassion that Grace and Lucia shows towards their pets, the difficult life Grace as a single woman faces in a small village filled with not so open-minded villagers , the exceptional care that a mentally disabled person requires that Grace finds rather challenging to figure out.
The writing has a lyrical emotion to it . The sea and its rage and calm is outlined with utmost fragility that is bound to stay with you for a moment too long
poojasinghco's review against another edition
4.0
"We raise our heads to the sky as if the sea was a window and we were climbing out of it."
- Tisha Doshani, Small Days and Nights.
🌊
Having had a normal childhood, born to parents of Italian and Indian descent, Grace finds herself in a small coastal village of Paramankeni, running away from her failed marriage and having found her sister, Lucia who was born with Down's syndrome and was kept a secret from her all these years.
🌊
Escaping the restless and highly active social life in States, grace decides to move into her mother's house, with Lucy, the village housekeeper Mallika and little dogs to surround the house.
A story that looks so simple on the surface, turns complicated as one unveils the layers of a life of a single woman living alone without any men in a village in India, by the sea.
🌊
Grace's days are filled with taking care of her sister, feeding the dogs, taking them to the beach and in the process trying to find her lost self, and make meaning of a life she has spent in Madras, Italy, the States, Kodaikanal and now Pondicherry.
But the nights are full of fear and anxiety, for the endless glares and attention a house being lived by a single woman attracts, of someone breaking in, of someone marring the beauty of the life they are trying to build here.
🌊
The prose is absolutely lyrical full of metaphors and analogies, that warms the heart and can be cherished long after one is done reading.
The beautiful description of the sea and the sand, and the nights and the days, and you can almost feel yourself walking on the beach or strolling on the streets of Italy suckling on a gelato.
The writing reminded me of Subhangi Swarup's portrayal of all the alluring landscapes.
🌊
An absolutely marvellous account of a story of survival, or finding one's lost self, making peace with the misgivings of a family, of mistrust and finding trust, unveiling secrets and accepting them.
But above all, it is a tale of the one's self-discovery amongst all the chaos, loneliness, heartbreaks and confusion.
.
.
.
.
A sad yet thought-provoking novel full of life and the various emotions of ecstasy it has to offer.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Genre: contemporary, fiction, indian-literature
Reading Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
- Tisha Doshani, Small Days and Nights.
🌊
Having had a normal childhood, born to parents of Italian and Indian descent, Grace finds herself in a small coastal village of Paramankeni, running away from her failed marriage and having found her sister, Lucia who was born with Down's syndrome and was kept a secret from her all these years.
🌊
Escaping the restless and highly active social life in States, grace decides to move into her mother's house, with Lucy, the village housekeeper Mallika and little dogs to surround the house.
A story that looks so simple on the surface, turns complicated as one unveils the layers of a life of a single woman living alone without any men in a village in India, by the sea.
🌊
Grace's days are filled with taking care of her sister, feeding the dogs, taking them to the beach and in the process trying to find her lost self, and make meaning of a life she has spent in Madras, Italy, the States, Kodaikanal and now Pondicherry.
But the nights are full of fear and anxiety, for the endless glares and attention a house being lived by a single woman attracts, of someone breaking in, of someone marring the beauty of the life they are trying to build here.
🌊
The prose is absolutely lyrical full of metaphors and analogies, that warms the heart and can be cherished long after one is done reading.
The beautiful description of the sea and the sand, and the nights and the days, and you can almost feel yourself walking on the beach or strolling on the streets of Italy suckling on a gelato.
The writing reminded me of Subhangi Swarup's portrayal of all the alluring landscapes.
🌊
An absolutely marvellous account of a story of survival, or finding one's lost self, making peace with the misgivings of a family, of mistrust and finding trust, unveiling secrets and accepting them.
But above all, it is a tale of the one's self-discovery amongst all the chaos, loneliness, heartbreaks and confusion.
.
.
.
.
A sad yet thought-provoking novel full of life and the various emotions of ecstasy it has to offer.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Genre: contemporary, fiction, indian-literature
Reading Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
_askthebookbug's review against another edition
4.0
Small days and nights.
~
Thank you @bloomsburyindia for sending over this beautiful book.
~
The cover is what drew me in. A free-spirited woman with three dogs accompanying her, depicts a lot of things and when I finished this book, I knew exactly what the cover was trying to say. Small days and nights is a book that talks about the feeling of home and the people you build one with. This is the kind of writing that I truly enjoy, something that reminded me of Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy. For this is the reason why I couldn't put it down till I read the last page.
~
The protagonist is a middle-aged woman named Grace, who experiences a sudden change post her mother's death. She reminiscences about her childhood days as she analyses her parent's relationship over the years and how unhappy it made them as the years proceeded. Grace was born to an Italian man and an Indian woman, the result of her talking vastly about her life in both Italy and India. Grace then discovers the secret of her sister whom she never knew existed until her mother died.
~
Lucia, a young woman suffering from Down's syndrome has been growing up in a residential centre until Grace takes her home and assumes the responsibilitity of being her mother. The story talks in detail about her life in Madras, Italy and Pondicherry making me miss the feel of sand in my feet and wind in my hair. An almost nostalgic feeling. This is the story of Grace that revolves around her sister Lucia, the housekeeper Mallika, the many dogs that she comes to love and the coastal beauty of the city she lives in.
~
It's a wonderful read that tugs at your heart and makes you miss your family and the place you're from. Though the story was well written, there was something amiss. Probably it was the constant switching between many places that Grace recalls and talks about. Or maybe the lack of depth in her mother's character description. But the book has a natural flair of being emotionally exhausting. The kind of read that you'd want to take up when your heart craves for love and loss.
~
Rating - 3.9/5.
~
Thank you @bloomsburyindia for sending over this beautiful book.
~
The cover is what drew me in. A free-spirited woman with three dogs accompanying her, depicts a lot of things and when I finished this book, I knew exactly what the cover was trying to say. Small days and nights is a book that talks about the feeling of home and the people you build one with. This is the kind of writing that I truly enjoy, something that reminded me of Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy. For this is the reason why I couldn't put it down till I read the last page.
~
The protagonist is a middle-aged woman named Grace, who experiences a sudden change post her mother's death. She reminiscences about her childhood days as she analyses her parent's relationship over the years and how unhappy it made them as the years proceeded. Grace was born to an Italian man and an Indian woman, the result of her talking vastly about her life in both Italy and India. Grace then discovers the secret of her sister whom she never knew existed until her mother died.
~
Lucia, a young woman suffering from Down's syndrome has been growing up in a residential centre until Grace takes her home and assumes the responsibilitity of being her mother. The story talks in detail about her life in Madras, Italy and Pondicherry making me miss the feel of sand in my feet and wind in my hair. An almost nostalgic feeling. This is the story of Grace that revolves around her sister Lucia, the housekeeper Mallika, the many dogs that she comes to love and the coastal beauty of the city she lives in.
~
It's a wonderful read that tugs at your heart and makes you miss your family and the place you're from. Though the story was well written, there was something amiss. Probably it was the constant switching between many places that Grace recalls and talks about. Or maybe the lack of depth in her mother's character description. But the book has a natural flair of being emotionally exhausting. The kind of read that you'd want to take up when your heart craves for love and loss.
~
Rating - 3.9/5.