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mjkienbaum's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.5
surbhibee's review against another edition
4.0
I have a lot of trouble thinking about NRI-esque books because they, at once, feel so eminently relatable and cliched. Small Days and Nights falls squarely in this category--a "foreign-return" Indian girl trying to reconcile her childhood, adulthood, and present. There isn't a "plot" as much as a messy process of the protagonist trying to straighten her various ties, to her estranged husband, dead mother, absent father, newfound sister, and the three countries she flits between. The prose is beautiful and Doshi's skills as a poet are evident in her command over every sentence. At the same time, the Indian side characters at times feel caricatured, but I have been feeling this about every India-based book I read nowadays so maybe I am the one who needs to do some figuring out on this front. Overall, was a thoughtful and touching read, one that I might go back to in a few years.
emmap010's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book! so beautifully written and thought provoking on the small things in life. It makes me just want to live a simple life by the sea living off the land with lots of animals and a lover.
jeter21's review against another edition
3.0
I found the first half very engrossing but the more the violence ramped up the less I found it interesting. The journey of the main character was really great tho
agarje1's review against another edition
4.0
I really clicked with this book in ways that I didn't really expect. Although this book doesn't really have a plot, I was so intrigued by Grace's story that I couldn't stop listening. The author made me lose myself in Grace's story, and the way the author described the setting and the characters really made me feel like I was there. Grace is such a complex character and there is so much to her story, and I think this book would not have worked with a weaker characterization. Grace isn't necessarily a likeable character and she makes so many questionable decisions over the course of this novel, but while reading the novel I got stuck in her head and I really came to feel for her and the decisions she had to make. This book is almost like a coming of age story except the main protagonist is in her thirties, but the way she doesn't know who she is reminded me a lot of stories with younger protagonists. It was nice to see that this sense of identity crisis isn't just limited to adolescents and people in their twenties.
It was also cool to see glimpses of life in Tamil Nadu, from the contrast between the city and more rural areas to the role of women in society. The contrasts Grace found between her life in the US and her life in India were also very fascinating, and it doesn't seem like she quite found herself in either place.
All in all this was a really immersive and thoughtful reading experience that I think will stick with me for a while.
It was also cool to see glimpses of life in Tamil Nadu, from the contrast between the city and more rural areas to the role of women in society. The contrasts Grace found between her life in the US and her life in India were also very fascinating, and it doesn't seem like she quite found herself in either place.
All in all this was a really immersive and thoughtful reading experience that I think will stick with me for a while.
meeranair_54's review against another edition
3.0
As a fictional novel that dwells on topics of family, politics and health, Small Days and Nights tells the story of Grace, an Indian-Italian woman whose life takes an unexpected turn. When news of her mother’s demise reaches her in US, she makes her way to her childhood home in Pondicherry to perform the last rites. Grappling with a failed marriage, Grace must also come to terms with the fact that for a large chunk of her life, her parents hid the truth about her having a sister.
Surprisingly enough, reading this book felt akin to what the title suggests. Grace’s story is shared with us in such a fleeting manner that the many scenes don’t even settle in our minds before we are whisked off to another time, another place. The back and forth shuffling took away from my enjoyment of the book. Usually, I like novels that don’t follow a chronological pattern of storytelling, but I felt that the premise of the novel and the author’s writing style did not gel well with this flashback style narrative.
That is not to say that the book isn’t well written. Tishani Doshi clearly has a very good grasp of the language and her lyrical writing brings out the beauty in the environment as well as human nature. The imageries she puts together, her aesthetically drawn out sentences – they all made me aspire to be a better writer. It’s just that while reading this book, I felt like some kind of continuity in the scenes would’ve helped me digest the story much better.
Grace is someone whose need for affiliation surfaces in times of rare social occasions. Even though she is often surrounded by people like her neighbors and her mother’s friends, you come to understand how lonely she truly feels. Because Grace finds herself wanting to take care of her sister, Lucia, we get to read about a character having Down Syndrome. I feel that the author strikes a good balance between exploring the portrayal of this disorder in a respectful, sensitive manner while also being realistic. Even though Grace grows attached to her sister, there are moments when she is frustrated by her inability to get through to Lucia.
I liked how we are transported to a couple of different locations like Italy and Paramankeni as we follow various phases of Grace’s life. It helped me form an idea about the kind of person she would be.
Overall, this book definitely had its enjoyable parts and a lot of the appeal, for me, was in the writing. But I didn’t like it as much as I’d hoped to. If you feel like you’d be interested in the plot, you should give it a try.
Thank you Bloomsbury India for sending me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
Surprisingly enough, reading this book felt akin to what the title suggests. Grace’s story is shared with us in such a fleeting manner that the many scenes don’t even settle in our minds before we are whisked off to another time, another place. The back and forth shuffling took away from my enjoyment of the book. Usually, I like novels that don’t follow a chronological pattern of storytelling, but I felt that the premise of the novel and the author’s writing style did not gel well with this flashback style narrative.
That is not to say that the book isn’t well written. Tishani Doshi clearly has a very good grasp of the language and her lyrical writing brings out the beauty in the environment as well as human nature. The imageries she puts together, her aesthetically drawn out sentences – they all made me aspire to be a better writer. It’s just that while reading this book, I felt like some kind of continuity in the scenes would’ve helped me digest the story much better.
Grace is someone whose need for affiliation surfaces in times of rare social occasions. Even though she is often surrounded by people like her neighbors and her mother’s friends, you come to understand how lonely she truly feels. Because Grace finds herself wanting to take care of her sister, Lucia, we get to read about a character having Down Syndrome. I feel that the author strikes a good balance between exploring the portrayal of this disorder in a respectful, sensitive manner while also being realistic. Even though Grace grows attached to her sister, there are moments when she is frustrated by her inability to get through to Lucia.
I liked how we are transported to a couple of different locations like Italy and Paramankeni as we follow various phases of Grace’s life. It helped me form an idea about the kind of person she would be.
Overall, this book definitely had its enjoyable parts and a lot of the appeal, for me, was in the writing. But I didn’t like it as much as I’d hoped to. If you feel like you’d be interested in the plot, you should give it a try.
Thank you Bloomsbury India for sending me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
biancarosesmith's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. I understand where the author was going with this one but I didn’t find it as funny, heart warming or touching as what I think it was intended to be. It was a bit quirky though and generally quirky books aren’t really for me.