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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
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:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow… what a beautiful and impactful book. I picked it up because the title sounded like a cosy winter read, and I’m so glad I did, even if it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I learned so much about the history of Sri Lanka & the civil war that I’d never heard about, and the parallels to Australian history were done skilfully. Beautiful, tender, heart wrenching and reflective read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, War
Minor: Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book lives up to it's cover, which I honestly thought was impossible because this is quite possibly my favourite book cover of all time!
The characters all just felt so real, I felt like I was so drawn in to not only the story - but into their lives. I was gripped on every page, and really felt like the story was constantly on my mind until I finished the book
The book dealt with a lot more serious issues than I was expecting, but it really was a beautiful and thought-provoking read. I do think the blurb is a bit misleading, as I was really just expecting a wholesome nursing home story, but I absolutely loved it nonetheless.
Would highly recommend this one!
The characters all just felt so real, I felt like I was so drawn in to not only the story - but into their lives. I was gripped on every page, and really felt like the story was constantly on my mind until I finished the book
The book dealt with a lot more serious issues than I was expecting, but it really was a beautiful and thought-provoking read. I do think the blurb is a bit misleading, as I was really just expecting a wholesome nursing home story, but I absolutely loved it nonetheless.
Would highly recommend this one!
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Such an eye opening and well written book. I love how the author weaves historical events and current issues with fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Torture, Violence, Islamophobia
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Murder, War
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What an incredible literary fiction with real Sri Lankan modern history interwoven!!! A must read for well… anyone who cares to learn anything about Sri Lankan recent history and a fiction novel looking at the never ending impacts of colonisation even for migrants to Australia. 🤪🤪 With full acknowledgement this is still not the same impact of colonisation for First Nations Peoples. The impact of this story felt like a slow burn for me. Slowly meeting various characters and their points of view until suddenly all the tensions hit an almost quick boiling over point and the “drama” of the story hits. Chandran’s story writing was so clever and hit in so many unexpected ways. I won this in a giveaway with a few other books, and was later rave review recommended this at a different bookstore which is what actually prompted me to read it. And it’s easy for me to see why it’s been so popular. These characters are so impactful. Their stories matter. The brief very modern history of Sri Lanka completely unknown to me until this book. Books like this show the importance of reading diversity and caring to learn different stories. There’s so much we can turn a blind eye to willingly learning and Chandran has done a wonderful job with this!
maybe i would’ve rated this more of a 3.5 and written a light critique of the heavy-handedness that Chandran succumbed to for most of the second act, but then the third act hit and i sobbed uncontrollably through the last twenty pages!!! fucking hell, dude!!! any story that makes me cry that violently with sadness and catharsis deserves my 5 stars!!!
emotional
sad
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
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A