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ludon5681's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Parcel is a deeply reflective, compassionate novel about prostitution, trafficking, gender, and deprivation set in Kamathipura, a destitute red-light district of Bombay. The story is told from the point of view of Madhu, a 40-year-old Hijra (person of the third gender - akin to a transgender woman who has been castrated) who had been a sex worker and is now a beggar. Mahdu has a very distinct voice dripping with dry, dark humour and understandable bitterness for the way her life had turned out. Her deeply and carefully rendered character - along with the characters around her who make up the rich landscape of the novel - is a highlight of the book, and the character development and depth of the characters was by far my favorite part of the novel. The writing was more matter-of-fact than I would have liked; there were fewer passages which took my breath away than I was expecting there to be, though there were still some beautiful ones. I also found the ending to be a bit abrupt - it's possible it was foreshadowed in ways that I didn't immediately pick up on, but it didn't seem to follow from a clear arc of character development in the way I would have hoped. Lastly, of course, it is best to go into this book informed - it is very much "dead dove: do not eat" territory, and while it is a gorgeous, resonant novel, it is also a lot to take in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Sexual violence, Slavery, Addiction, and Child abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Medical content, and Drug abuse
kanjichris's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Transphobia
Moderate: Outing, Death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence
tshepiso's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Parcel is a book I wouldn't have touched with a 100-metre pole if it hadn't been assigned reading for a uni course. It's the kind of literary fiction marketers describe as "raw" and "unflinching" that can best be summed up as graphic misery put to the page. I don't deny that the subject matter Anosh Irani tackles in this book, the sex traffic of children in Mumbai, isn't an important or worthy subject matter for a book but I am definitely not this book's target audience.
The Parcel follows a Hijra sex worker turned beggar Madhu as she is solicited by a brothel madam to "prepare" a Nepalese child for life as a sex worker. The book is ambling and expansive as we get the history of Madhu and her fellow sex workers' lives in Kathumapura, the red light district of Mumbai.
To describe this story as bleak is an understatement. The centre of this novel is the emotional tumult of our protagonist as she unpacks the ways her family and society as a whole discards her and people like her. Madhu is coarse and vulgar as she sifts through a lifetime of horrific trauma and Irani rarely pulls punches when he describes the gruesome realities of violence, rape, and abuse in the underbelly of Mumbai.
This book is visceral, occasionally vile and reads like an endless onslaught of misery. I don't doubt The Parcel is a well-crafted novel but it couldn't be farther from the kinds of books I enjoy reading and had a thoroughly unpleasant time with it.
The Parcel follows a Hijra sex worker turned beggar Madhu as she is solicited by a brothel madam to "prepare" a Nepalese child for life as a sex worker. The book is ambling and expansive as we get the history of Madhu and her fellow sex workers' lives in Kathumapura, the red light district of Mumbai.
To describe this story as bleak is an understatement. The centre of this novel is the emotional tumult of our protagonist as she unpacks the ways her family and society as a whole discards her and people like her. Madhu is coarse and vulgar as she sifts through a lifetime of horrific trauma and Irani rarely pulls punches when he describes the gruesome realities of violence, rape, and abuse in the underbelly of Mumbai.
This book is visceral, occasionally vile and reads like an endless onslaught of misery. I don't doubt The Parcel is a well-crafted novel but it couldn't be farther from the kinds of books I enjoy reading and had a thoroughly unpleasant time with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Trafficking
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
Minor: Suicide
annabunce's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a hard book to review. Was the writing amazing? Yes. Was the story compelling? Yes. Did I learn something about a culture I know nothing about? Yes. Was it hard to read and upsetting? Yes. Am I glad I read it?.... yes. A hard read but ultimately a good one. Check the content warning though - this book could be very triggering to many folks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Transphobia
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty
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