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ebgould's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
sabrinarae's review
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
skysinanan09's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
scizzors's review
4.0
This book is like nothing I've ever read before.
Intimate and striking, this novel follows several characters as they react to the death of a sex worker. Using switching pov chapters to depict the way in which the world around the Blue Lotus brothel reacts to the horrific crime. We are shown how corruption festers within the police force and the sex industry, exploration coming from both bad actors and people who the main characters trust to protect them.
This is a beautifully sympathetic portrayal of sex workers and their struggles. Arguing strongly that they deserve the same safety as any other type of work and showcasing how criminalisation, demonisation and a lack of safety precautions is a death sentence rather than a saving grace for the industry.
This novel is an unflinching portrayal of the horrors and injustice that sex workers face when their work is kept to the dark sides of society. If you are at all interested in the intricacies of the sex industry debate this novel is essential reading.
(Trigger warnings for this novel include: sex trafficking, abuse, childhood sexual abuse, rape, misogyny, gaslighting, coercion, and police misconduct/brutality.)
Intimate and striking, this novel follows several characters as they react to the death of a sex worker. Using switching pov chapters to depict the way in which the world around the Blue Lotus brothel reacts to the horrific crime. We are shown how corruption festers within the police force and the sex industry, exploration coming from both bad actors and people who the main characters trust to protect them.
This is a beautifully sympathetic portrayal of sex workers and their struggles. Arguing strongly that they deserve the same safety as any other type of work and showcasing how criminalisation, demonisation and a lack of safety precautions is a death sentence rather than a saving grace for the industry.
This novel is an unflinching portrayal of the horrors and injustice that sex workers face when their work is kept to the dark sides of society. If you are at all interested in the intricacies of the sex industry debate this novel is essential reading.
(Trigger warnings for this novel include: sex trafficking, abuse, childhood sexual abuse, rape, misogyny, gaslighting, coercion, and police misconduct/brutality.)
andratalpi's review
dark
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Sexual content, Murder, Child abuse, Rape, Violence, and Sexual violence
here_only_for_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
🔹 My take: 3/5
TW: Sex trafficking, rape, child abuse
TW: Sex trafficking, rape, child abuse
🔸 Small Deaths is based on the backdrop of Shonagachhi, the red light area of Calcutta. It traverses through Blue Lotus brothel and shows lives of prostitutes, their dreams and struggles. Put in this mix some murders, sex trafficking, the lax attitude of police, an NGO / collective and a rogue sadhu cheating in the name of religion. And you get a peek in this intricate dangerous world of lies, deceit and politics.
💫 This book was released last year in India and was titled as ‘A death in Shonagachhi’. This debut by Rijula Das has won loads of accolades and awards. It’s a brave attempt by author to write about such a sensitive topic and she has handled it quite well. The detailing in book is great. It explores a community and their daily upheavals to survive. It was already mentioned by the author earlier that this is not a murder mystery and hence I did not go into it thinking that, so no disappointments.
💔 It was easy for me to read through since I understand Indian slang but there are too many words specific to Bengal culture / Hindi that would be difficult for all to understand. I found there were too many characters in the book and hence at some point it was difficult to keep a track of all of them. E.g.: story of Vishal & Deepa or Samsher & his wife were not warranted for the plot. Hence, somewhere in middle, I lost interest. The story picked up pace again in last 20% but I kept getting nervous as to how all the open ends will be tied in few remaining pages. Unfortunately, there was no closure to many parallel running stories and hence I felt reader has been left in a limbo.
💗 I guess this book could make a good web series where all the intricacies covered by the story can be explored and each character can get its screen space. Since this book is from noir genre, it is not for faint hearted or idealists and readers should make a note of that before jumping into this dark abyss.
Thank you @netgalley @amazoncrossing for gifting the eARC in exchange of honest review.
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