Reviews

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

sillysausagezj's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

chrissmea's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

sloanefg's review

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

purplepandemic7's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

lottie1803's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

elliethelibrarian's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

poppyharveyxoxo's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

amator_librorum's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.5

kiwi_zoe's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

sharkybookshelf's review against another edition

3.0

When her mother dies, 11-year-old Gopi’s father is at a loss and starts her and her sisters on an intense squash training regime - it soon becomes Gopi’s whole world…

Despite the many reviews stating that an interest in squash isn’t necessary to enjoy this one, I went into this one with pretty low expectations since I have exactly zero interest in that particular sport. Even with those low expectations, my main feeling on finishing it was “meh”.

There are themes of grief and growing up, navigating generational differences within an immigrant community, all of which interest me and the story itself was enjoyable enough (between all the squash), though I’m not sure it brought anything new to the table.

However, Maroo didn’t quite manage to hit the balance between things said and those left unsaid but implied - there was a bit of an oscillation between too much brevity and not enough. I also wasn’t convinced by the child narrator - at times Gopi felt overly naïve and at other times she felt too mature in terms of what she did and didn’t understand of what was happening around her. Granted, it’s implied that the story is recounted by adult Gopi from the POV of her 11-year-old self, so some hindsight would have bled in, but it just didn’t always quite ring true.

An enjoyable enough story of grief and generational differences within an immigrant community, but with an imbalance between things said and merely implied and very heavy on the squash.