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mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Overall eh. The climax and end of the book felt rushed and not well written. Interesting concept but mediocre execution.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
It was good enough to be almost bad. Not sure how else to describe this book. It starts out with interesting commentary on language versus culture before devolving into a surreal thriller that twists the perception of relationships with dark humor and nuance.
As an immigrant and woman myself, I felt a connection to the observations on gender and belonging. The writing is also interesting enough for me to both understand where the characters are coming from and intensely dislike them at the same time. I also feel the experience was quite different as an audiobook because audio plays such a big role in the plot. Wouldn’t recommend unless you’re in the mindset to really think.
As an immigrant and woman myself, I felt a connection to the observations on gender and belonging. The writing is also interesting enough for me to both understand where the characters are coming from and intensely dislike them at the same time. I also feel the experience was quite different as an audiobook because audio plays such a big role in the plot. Wouldn’t recommend unless you’re in the mindset to really think.
i’m very torn on my thoughts for this book. when i first read the premise, i thought that it would become my favorite book ever written and that i would instantly fall in love with it. i certainly enjoyed it, but unfortunately that’s not what happened. part of that is because the actual content of this book is absolutely Not what i was expecting based on its summary, which is actually wildly disappointing tbh
on one hand, the story itself is intriguing and designed to force the reader to think about things on a deeper level. this book tackles so many issues that it would be easier to name the things that aren’t mentioned, but in general, i found the discussions about gender, race, white supremacy, and sexuality (among other things) to generally fit in to the narrative that was being woven. the progression of anisa and her story felt relatively natural as well, though anisa is… certainly an unlikable main character, to put it mildly
on the other hand, it’s not like this book radically changed the way i think, even though that was what it seemed like it was attempting to do. i also didn’t find myself particularly eager to get to the very end. i mean, i wanted to finish it, of course, but i wasn’t tripping over myself to figure out what was going on. i was just kind of… along for the ride, i guess
ALSO: it’s hard to critique the story because my critiques are also the things i enjoyed, bizarrely enough. there’s no real plot to the story, but that’s by design, as you find out at the very end. the issues anisa has with both naima and adam seem randomly dropped in, but again, this fits with the narrative structure. there’s no real resolution, but AGAIN, this is on purpose! it’s difficult to try and explain because i both admire and am critical about all of these aspects
in general, this isn’t really what i wanted it to be, but i’m not incredibly upset by what it was, either
on one hand, the story itself is intriguing and designed to force the reader to think about things on a deeper level. this book tackles so many issues that it would be easier to name the things that aren’t mentioned, but in general, i found the discussions about gender, race, white supremacy, and sexuality (among other things) to generally fit in to the narrative that was being woven. the progression of anisa and her story felt relatively natural as well, though anisa is… certainly an unlikable main character, to put it mildly
on the other hand, it’s not like this book radically changed the way i think, even though that was what it seemed like it was attempting to do. i also didn’t find myself particularly eager to get to the very end. i mean, i wanted to finish it, of course, but i wasn’t tripping over myself to figure out what was going on. i was just kind of… along for the ride, i guess
ALSO: it’s hard to critique the story because my critiques are also the things i enjoyed, bizarrely enough. there’s no real plot to the story, but that’s by design, as you find out at the very end. the issues anisa has with both naima and adam seem randomly dropped in, but again, this fits with the narrative structure. there’s no real resolution, but AGAIN, this is on purpose! it’s difficult to try and explain because i both admire and am critical about all of these aspects
in general, this isn’t really what i wanted it to be, but i’m not incredibly upset by what it was, either
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What an absolute surprise this one was, my goodness. From that slow, relationship centric start, I wasn't expecting it to go where it went. Was thankful when that fell off, it's just not for me. The cannibalism twist was such a ghoulish and yet delightful surprise though. Obviously, I thought it was awful but it added so much more to the story than what it was before that. That ending though. It was so abrupt and unfulfilling, you can't help but want the full, unending story. BUT WHEN SHE HIT US WITH THAT "DEAR LEARNER"? Oh, I got the answer to my question.
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Alcohol
Minor: Racial slurs, Classism
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was just okay? I didn't have a bad time reading it aside from a weird start but it really did nothing for me. The reveal of how it all works was underwhelming. The main character was pretty annoying and I couldn't tell if that was on purpose or not.
I feel like this wasn't doing enough with its own concept (a very unique and interesting one at least), and overall could've been executed much better.
I feel like this wasn't doing enough with its own concept (a very unique and interesting one at least), and overall could've been executed much better.
Minor: Cannibalism
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I won this beautiful book from Goodreads, and that cover...wow. I loved it, and I loved the premise of the book, especially since it's a female Pakistani author, which is kind of unheard of in this genre.
As the book unfolded, I was excited to see where this goes. I was tense. I was interested in the characters. However, that didn't last. There were too many tangents with stories that I didn't feel like moved the plot, i.e., Naima's wedding. Anisa was all over the place and I personally didn't like her character. For instance, she wants to confront Shiba about the Centre and decides going there to confront would be too risky, but going to her apartment located inside the Centre was okay. The thing with Shiba's dad was just weird. And even Adam was just a weird character. I honestly thought they would do more with the memory loss, and maybe that Azeem is a plant to distract Naima, maybe even Adam's therapist. But nope. I have to agree with Shiba in her response to Anisa when she says she loves Anna. Ummm. What?! The ending was a bit anti-climatic and lost all its tension. And then the book just ended.
I would definitely read this author again, but don't expect much horror from this.
As the book unfolded, I was excited to see where this goes. I was tense. I was interested in the characters. However, that didn't last. There were too many tangents with stories that I didn't feel like moved the plot, i.e., Naima's wedding. Anisa was all over the place and I personally didn't like her character. For instance, she wants to confront Shiba about the Centre and decides going there to confront would be too risky, but going to her apartment located inside the Centre was okay. The thing with Shiba's dad was just weird. And even Adam was just a weird character. I honestly thought they would do more with the memory loss, and maybe that Azeem is a plant to distract Naima, maybe even Adam's therapist. But nope. I have to agree with Shiba in her response to Anisa when she says she loves Anna. Ummm. What?! The ending was a bit anti-climatic and lost all its tension. And then the book just ended.
I would definitely read this author again, but don't expect much horror from this.