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misandry's review
reflective
slow-paced
0.25
Atrocious. Worst book I’ve read this year. Entire book was just a dull account of the author’s day to day life. Just when something would get interesting, he’d switch and go back to talking about his commute to work (with each train line documented in great detail). Either that or just him bitching and moaning. Author has extreme levels of privilege, yet cosplays as some broke immigrant trying to make it in New York (forget the fact that his father owns countless properties in Nepal). I will, however, give the book credit for its exploration into the divide LGBT immigrants face between their culture and sexuality. This book could have been great, but the writing style, lack of plot, and unnecessary detail killed it completely.
jewelled_'s review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
When I first started this book, I had a thought, a feeling that this was going to special. And it is, for several reasons.
My first story by a Nepali author writing in English. My first memoir. My first time reading about a Nepali queer person. And tomorrow, Niranjan Kunwar is going to be the first author I've met.
Between Queens and the Cities is dripping with honesty. Kunwar's words are simple yet poetic, his descriptions vivid, and his emotions tangible. While reading his story, I learnt so much of so much else— the queer community and activists of Nepal, about travels, and about relationships, I could almost compare this to a lighthouse.
My first story by a Nepali author writing in English. My first memoir. My first time reading about a Nepali queer person. And tomorrow, Niranjan Kunwar is going to be the first author I've met.
Between Queens and the Cities is dripping with honesty. Kunwar's words are simple yet poetic, his descriptions vivid, and his emotions tangible. While reading his story, I learnt so much of so much else— the queer community and activists of Nepal, about travels, and about relationships, I could almost compare this to a lighthouse.
hanaspages's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Self harm, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
thecuriouscase_pr's review
4.0
"What part of yourself did you have to destroy in order to survive in this world?"
I remember Niranjan Kunwar asking us this question in a poetry workshop back in 2021. That's when I learnt about this book, and I finally read it, and oh what a treat it was!
I have always believed that there's tremendous power in a person being vulnerable enough to share their story for the world to read. It is an art of courage to reflect back on your experiences, your struggles, and share the entries with an open heart. The heart of this book is the writer's vulnerability. He writes these vignettes with such honesty and nakedness that you almost feel as though he is speaking directly to you, like the people he talks about are people you know, and you're having these experiences with him.
There's extravagance in simplicity. And the stories the writer shares are stories of simplicity, of everyday life, that so many of us deal with, and move past. But not so often are able to reflect back on its extravagance. That fight with your parents, that person you met for coffee, the tension with your relatives, the fear of things changing, or your friends moving on from you - things are all the things you experience, but the writer finds a way to extract the the most reflective learnings from all these interactions and emotions, and find the answers in-between.
While the heart of the book is it's vulnerability, the stories at the end of the book is the strength. The writer highlights the stories of so many other people who have been othered or marginalized because of their gender and sexuality and brings them in the forefront, and I think that added more power to the book.
With all of this and more, the book is a learning experience - of a person taking power of their being, and their sexuality. If you haven't already, please pick up this book.
I've lost a lot of me because I've tried to survive. But this book taught me that you find a lot more of you if you try to thrive, instead of just survive.
I remember Niranjan Kunwar asking us this question in a poetry workshop back in 2021. That's when I learnt about this book, and I finally read it, and oh what a treat it was!
I have always believed that there's tremendous power in a person being vulnerable enough to share their story for the world to read. It is an art of courage to reflect back on your experiences, your struggles, and share the entries with an open heart. The heart of this book is the writer's vulnerability. He writes these vignettes with such honesty and nakedness that you almost feel as though he is speaking directly to you, like the people he talks about are people you know, and you're having these experiences with him.
There's extravagance in simplicity. And the stories the writer shares are stories of simplicity, of everyday life, that so many of us deal with, and move past. But not so often are able to reflect back on its extravagance. That fight with your parents, that person you met for coffee, the tension with your relatives, the fear of things changing, or your friends moving on from you - things are all the things you experience, but the writer finds a way to extract the the most reflective learnings from all these interactions and emotions, and find the answers in-between.
While the heart of the book is it's vulnerability, the stories at the end of the book is the strength. The writer highlights the stories of so many other people who have been othered or marginalized because of their gender and sexuality and brings them in the forefront, and I think that added more power to the book.
With all of this and more, the book is a learning experience - of a person taking power of their being, and their sexuality. If you haven't already, please pick up this book.
I've lost a lot of me because I've tried to survive. But this book taught me that you find a lot more of you if you try to thrive, instead of just survive.
soetaa's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
The way he writes, it tastes like honey on my tongue. The book had me cry, had me laugh, and made me feel seen; not because of my sexual or gender orientation either, but because it speaks so well of that longing - to find an anchor, to belong, of the inevitable changes that life brings, and that disorienting feeling of swimming through uncertainties.
I would've given the book a 5 star, if it weren't for the second half. The first half of the book was every bit worth 5 stars. In the second half, I felt like the book was bogged down with so many details that the thread of the story was lost at times. I'm not sure I needed to know things like how yanan brought clear liquid in a plastic bottle and captioned the Facebook post so and so, and other such details. I wondered if the earlier part was based on memory and so the mind had already done the job of filtering out the extraneous details, so that every bit remembered was ripe with juice, whereas the second half over-relied on daily journals and the husk stayed on with the yield.
Regardless, I would recommend this book to anyone who asked.
I would've given the book a 5 star, if it weren't for the second half. The first half of the book was every bit worth 5 stars. In the second half, I felt like the book was bogged down with so many details that the thread of the story was lost at times. I'm not sure I needed to know things like how yanan brought clear liquid in a plastic bottle and captioned the Facebook post so and so, and other such details. I wondered if the earlier part was based on memory and so the mind had already done the job of filtering out the extraneous details, so that every bit remembered was ripe with juice, whereas the second half over-relied on daily journals and the husk stayed on with the yield.
Regardless, I would recommend this book to anyone who asked.
shreyshrey's review
5.0
A love letter to built community and queer life, with so much deep sorrow throughout it all. I really, really appreciated this book and his writing. It reminded me a lot of Alexander Cher’s “How to Write an Autobiographical Novel,” and of Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.” This is going to stay with me for a long time.
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