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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.
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.
gscully21's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled finding the point of this novel for most of it. I was reading, not fully engaged but not fully bored either, and I just didn't know why this story was being told. It seemed like the author had too many points but wasn't committed to any of them. Environmental concerns were thrown in sporadically, but they didn't seem to connect to the story or amount to much. I had a similar feeling about other events in the novel - Blake's visit, Mallika's disappearance, etc. These things just kind of were.
Because the elements of the novel seemed a bit disconnected and/or incomplete, I struggled to connect to the emotions of the characters. Even Grace, who is arguably the only character that I had a chance to connect with because the other characters weren't fleshed out enough. In my opinion, it seemed like she didn't bond well with Lucia, but then she was distraught when she was taken back to the Center. Where did this connection come from, when she was constantly questioning her ability and willingness to continue?
"Small Days and Nights" gets 3 stars from me instead of 2 because of the last 60 pages or so. I didn't expect Teacher to effectively kidnap Lucy, and I didn't expect Mallika to disappear. I was a bit more engaged after this happened, because I felt some more emotion from Grace and I wanted to see if she got Lucy back. I wish this development had happened earlier, so Doshi could have delved further into Grace's inner turmoil and her actions following Lucy's disappearance.
Favorite line: "And so there is this, I am filled with it, a sweetness." (242)
3/5 stars: not enough emotional connection and the story seemed disconnected at times, but intriguing ending
Because the elements of the novel seemed a bit disconnected and/or incomplete, I struggled to connect to the emotions of the characters. Even Grace, who is arguably the only character that I had a chance to connect with because the other characters weren't fleshed out enough. In my opinion, it seemed like she didn't bond well with Lucia, but then she was distraught when she was taken back to the Center. Where did this connection come from, when she was constantly questioning her ability and willingness to continue?
"Small Days and Nights" gets 3 stars from me instead of 2 because of the last 60 pages or so. I didn't expect Teacher to effectively kidnap Lucy, and I didn't expect Mallika to disappear. I was a bit more engaged after this happened, because I felt some more emotion from Grace and I wanted to see if she got Lucy back. I wish this development had happened earlier, so Doshi could have delved further into Grace's inner turmoil and her actions following Lucy's disappearance.
Favorite line: "And so there is this, I am filled with it, a sweetness." (242)
3/5 stars: not enough emotional connection and the story seemed disconnected at times, but intriguing ending
johannalm's review against another edition
3.0
Small Days and Nights
Tishani Doshi
Back in India to cremate her mother, Grace is teetering on the edge. A child of an Indian mother and Italian father, who has lived her adult life in America, she is now distancing herself from a loveless marriage and the man she left behind in the US. Not only that, once her mother’s will is read, Grace learns that she has an older sister who has been cared for these many years in a private home for girls with issues. And, she’s inherited a house by the see outside Madras.
Grace is stunned. She had led such a lonely childhood with her parents always fighting and a mother who disappeared every Thursday for years, and now it turns out she had a sister all along. But this older sister has many incapasities and looks odd as well, something shunned and unusual in Indian society.
Grace is enthralled by the large house that sits on the beach and decides she must make an effort to change her life and become her sister’s caretaker. So Grace and Lucy and a maid from the local village, and a rag tag pile of dogs take over the house.
Things don’t go easy for Grace and Lucy. This handicapped women is like a child and is used to a strict routine, which she demands they stick to. Lucy can’t do much of anything for herself so Grace and the maid do all. Life is frustrating, lonely, confusing and scary for Grace, who continually wonders if this is it for her. Is this her family from now on? Is this really the life she wants to lead, away from work, City life, friends, and unstable secretive relationships? Just an ever growing pile of dogs, a small village, the beach and her incapacitated sister?
This is an interesting look at modern Indian culture, yet I found it a slow read. The characters are a mixed bag and several things happened and I didn’t understand how we ended up where we did. However, there are lovely descriptions of the beach, sweet portrayals of the ups and downs of living with a person with Down Syndrome, and some thought provoking mussing on women’s lives.
Tishani Doshi
Back in India to cremate her mother, Grace is teetering on the edge. A child of an Indian mother and Italian father, who has lived her adult life in America, she is now distancing herself from a loveless marriage and the man she left behind in the US. Not only that, once her mother’s will is read, Grace learns that she has an older sister who has been cared for these many years in a private home for girls with issues. And, she’s inherited a house by the see outside Madras.
Grace is stunned. She had led such a lonely childhood with her parents always fighting and a mother who disappeared every Thursday for years, and now it turns out she had a sister all along. But this older sister has many incapasities and looks odd as well, something shunned and unusual in Indian society.
Grace is enthralled by the large house that sits on the beach and decides she must make an effort to change her life and become her sister’s caretaker. So Grace and Lucy and a maid from the local village, and a rag tag pile of dogs take over the house.
Things don’t go easy for Grace and Lucy. This handicapped women is like a child and is used to a strict routine, which she demands they stick to. Lucy can’t do much of anything for herself so Grace and the maid do all. Life is frustrating, lonely, confusing and scary for Grace, who continually wonders if this is it for her. Is this her family from now on? Is this really the life she wants to lead, away from work, City life, friends, and unstable secretive relationships? Just an ever growing pile of dogs, a small village, the beach and her incapacitated sister?
This is an interesting look at modern Indian culture, yet I found it a slow read. The characters are a mixed bag and several things happened and I didn’t understand how we ended up where we did. However, there are lovely descriptions of the beach, sweet portrayals of the ups and downs of living with a person with Down Syndrome, and some thought provoking mussing on women’s lives.
the_literarylinguist's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
baoluong's review against another edition
2.0
Felt like forever to finish, but I like the inclusion of a character with Down’s syndrome. Everything else can be explained as separated woman trying to reconnect with her home town.
Grace never felt connected to her life in America. In a long term relationship with a man named Blake and a less than meaningful circle of people surrounding her, she dreams of finding herself. She dreams there is a realer version she has yet to discover and like someone unwilling to accept how unspectacular a life can be, she desperately hopes there is just more to life. More than the daily routine and drivel. The way that her marriage has slowly eroded because he’s not the person she first met or maybe she’s not the same person anymore. The way she can’t help but find her parents to be normal people who stayed together because they had to, alone in a country they didn’t understand. The rare moments of something special is something Grace holds on to so tightly she forgets that the very nature of existing can be enough.
The pacing of the book is ice berg slow. Grace takes extreme lengths of time to reminisce and we’re mostly in her own head as she remembers a past that’s been altered once learning about her sister Lucia. A sister she’s never known existed because she’s been housed in a home for people with Down Syndrome. Maybe she feels some guilt being the “above ground” sister like the movie Us. Maybe this is the only connection to her now deceased mother who had such a private relationship to her other daughter. Either way, Grace decides to take care of Lucia herself and in this act she gives into the idea that she needs to control everything. Or that there’s a purpose to life that’s greater than ourselves.
Perhaps this is why she takes her role as caretaker seriously at first but after learning that her sister is more difficult with a myriad of idiosyncratic behaviors and a penchant to appeal to Grace’s feelings of guilt. Grace comes to love and hate her sister but more so recognizes that this is simply her life. There is no greener grass on the other side. Living in India again, with an absent father, a lost marriage, and a sea side house, she accepts that she is capable of being enough for herself.
Grace never felt connected to her life in America. In a long term relationship with a man named Blake and a less than meaningful circle of people surrounding her, she dreams of finding herself. She dreams there is a realer version she has yet to discover and like someone unwilling to accept how unspectacular a life can be, she desperately hopes there is just more to life. More than the daily routine and drivel. The way that her marriage has slowly eroded because he’s not the person she first met or maybe she’s not the same person anymore. The way she can’t help but find her parents to be normal people who stayed together because they had to, alone in a country they didn’t understand. The rare moments of something special is something Grace holds on to so tightly she forgets that the very nature of existing can be enough.
The pacing of the book is ice berg slow. Grace takes extreme lengths of time to reminisce and we’re mostly in her own head as she remembers a past that’s been altered once learning about her sister Lucia. A sister she’s never known existed because she’s been housed in a home for people with Down Syndrome. Maybe she feels some guilt being the “above ground” sister like the movie Us. Maybe this is the only connection to her now deceased mother who had such a private relationship to her other daughter. Either way, Grace decides to take care of Lucia herself and in this act she gives into the idea that she needs to control everything. Or that there’s a purpose to life that’s greater than ourselves.
Perhaps this is why she takes her role as caretaker seriously at first but after learning that her sister is more difficult with a myriad of idiosyncratic behaviors and a penchant to appeal to Grace’s feelings of guilt. Grace comes to love and hate her sister but more so recognizes that this is simply her life. There is no greener grass on the other side. Living in India again, with an absent father, a lost marriage, and a sea side house, she accepts that she is capable of being enough for herself.
pavi_fictionalworm's review against another edition
3.0
Actual Rating 3.75 Stars
Review to follow soon! <3
Review to follow soon! <3