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vaniavela's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Racism, Racial slurs, and Chronic illness
nrldyer's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent, funny and stirring story exposing all the nuances of racism and colonialism in Britain through one family's story. Mukesh, Neha, Rakesh, Nisha and Ba become beautifully real through Nikesh's narration and the voices that embody them
lily_phaeton's review
4.25
kinda hoped there would be a bit more coding parts etc, but i loved the story and the different characters.
soymiajane's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
shaguftap's review against another edition
3.0
My reading lately has been a series of “ nearly but not quite done” books, (combo of abandoned books, starting something new or library recalls) but finally I have finished a book! This is Nikesh Shukla’s latest novel and his last book was the amazing anthology “The Good Immigrant” so my expectations were high going into this read.
My feelings about this book are mixed. There is a lot of commentary through the characters observations and thoughts about race and migration in the UK and I loved a lot of those sections of the book ( the madness of chai tea, the excellence standard people of colour need to meet, the fear of migration, the impact of hatred and much more). In terms of the plot and the characters though, though I found the descriptions of being South Asian in the sixties in the U.K quite powerful, I struggled to connect with the book overall. The book is told from the perspective of diff characters in diff time periods and although I normally enjoy that kind of structure, I don’t know how successful this structure was in this book. The plot was more just a carrier for those observational nuggets which were the strongest parts of Shukla’s writing for me.
A 3.5 star read for me.
My feelings about this book are mixed. There is a lot of commentary through the characters observations and thoughts about race and migration in the UK and I loved a lot of those sections of the book ( the madness of chai tea, the excellence standard people of colour need to meet, the fear of migration, the impact of hatred and much more). In terms of the plot and the characters though, though I found the descriptions of being South Asian in the sixties in the U.K quite powerful, I struggled to connect with the book overall. The book is told from the perspective of diff characters in diff time periods and although I normally enjoy that kind of structure, I don’t know how successful this structure was in this book. The plot was more just a carrier for those observational nuggets which were the strongest parts of Shukla’s writing for me.
A 3.5 star read for me.
stephend81d5's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jennamorrison's review
4.0
This is the story of a family who move from Kenya to the UK in the 60s and how their expectations of life in this country are very different to the reality. The book alternates between different members of the family and shows the different attitudes of the different generations throughout the decades.
A large part of the issues they face is based on race, ranging from ignorant comments to agressive attacks and the author does a great job of highlighting what poc have to deal with on a daily basis.
A great story about family, which also raises important issues.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
A large part of the issues they face is based on race, ranging from ignorant comments to agressive attacks and the author does a great job of highlighting what poc have to deal with on a daily basis.
A great story about family, which also raises important issues.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
ani_g's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
aims's review
This book was recommended to me, but I was really disappointed. I enjoyed the first chapter that explored Neha's father's story, but after that, I struggled to stay interested. I didn't understand the concept of the computer program Neha was trying to build - the entire chapter seemed to focus on it and yet I had no conceivable idea of how it actually worked - and her character irritated me. The rest of the characters felt one-dimensional, and I stopped reading when Raks made some poor woman go on a date with him and then immediately started offloading all his problems onto her. Perhaps the last chapter picked up again, but I'm not invested enough to continue.
aquakerwitch's review
5.0
Just brilliant. Deals with death and complex relationships and families in an amazing way. Please read it. There's even a nonstraight character which I'm so grateful for.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness