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duffymn's review
4.0
Beautiful prose, gripping story of a version of Indian colonialism, outside of India. Very memorable.
siobhanward's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.0
I picked this up as an ebook because it was available immediately and it was decent. Things moved slowly for a bit and then very quickly. The beginning was well-written and drew me in, but there were definitely parts that dragged a bit. I found Bhumi's plot far more engaging than Jaipal's, so his chapters dragged a bit for me. Overall a decent read, even if things ended a bit too cleanly and suddenly.
madison_bernabe88's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sarasanders2's review
4.0
Set in 1985 on a small Pacific island, Mother Ocean Father Nation features a family being torn apart amidst rising racial tensions, political oppression, and a national coup.
Bhumi, one of the two main characters, is an ambitious young woman who has just begun her botany studies at South Pacific University when she is forced to leave the country. Taken away from her passion and stripped of her citizenship, Bhumi struggles to build a new life. Her brother Jaipal, on the other hand, is stuck on the island managing the family business. He always feels second-best to his over-achieving sister and struggles with his own identity in a country under collapse.
This was a truly wonderful debut novel from Batsha. My one critique is that the story took off quickly, but the pace slowed about a third of the way through and never really picked back up. I was still very intrigued and invested, I just think the pace could have been more evenly distributed.
Mother Ocean Father Nation is still a beautifully written, incredibly poignant, and timely saga exploring familial dynamics, oppression, self discovery, immigration, and the meaning of home.
I highly recommend this book, and I can’t wait to read more of Nishant Batsha’s work in the future.
Thank you to Ecco Press and HarperCollins for the advanced copy!
Check out @doubletoilandtrouble on insta for more reviews.
Bhumi, one of the two main characters, is an ambitious young woman who has just begun her botany studies at South Pacific University when she is forced to leave the country. Taken away from her passion and stripped of her citizenship, Bhumi struggles to build a new life. Her brother Jaipal, on the other hand, is stuck on the island managing the family business. He always feels second-best to his over-achieving sister and struggles with his own identity in a country under collapse.
This was a truly wonderful debut novel from Batsha. My one critique is that the story took off quickly, but the pace slowed about a third of the way through and never really picked back up. I was still very intrigued and invested, I just think the pace could have been more evenly distributed.
Mother Ocean Father Nation is still a beautifully written, incredibly poignant, and timely saga exploring familial dynamics, oppression, self discovery, immigration, and the meaning of home.
I highly recommend this book, and I can’t wait to read more of Nishant Batsha’s work in the future.
Thank you to Ecco Press and HarperCollins for the advanced copy!
Check out @doubletoilandtrouble on insta for more reviews.
sssnoo's review
4.0
Mother Ocean Father Nation adds a compelling novel to the unfortunately scant body of literature about the global Indian diaspora. Batsha's story focuses on a brother and sister growing up on a South Pacific island nation (unnamed but loosely based on Fiji?). They are descendants of Indian indentured laborers brought to the island to work the sugar can fields.
Most non-Indians are probably not very aware of the vast global emigration from the subcontinent that resulted in large Indian populations throughout Commonwealth nations. Yet there are populations descended from these original settlers found across the globe.
Both siblings in Batsha's novel are engaging and bring layers of complexity to his story. On one level is the overarching tale of the island's Indian population as they face persecution from the more populous Melanesian population, led by a coup-installed General. On a deeper level is a dysfunctional yet tightly bound nuclear family led by an abusive father, a subservient mother, and the brother and sister protagonists.
I was engaged and interested in the outcome for both brother and sister. They each face challenges unique to the book's specific setting yet familiar to other oppressed peoples and refugees. If you are interested in humanity and hunger for original settings and stories, I suggest reading this book. Overall, it is a dark tale, but there is plenty within it to tug at your heartstrings and make you smile.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Most non-Indians are probably not very aware of the vast global emigration from the subcontinent that resulted in large Indian populations throughout Commonwealth nations. Yet there are populations descended from these original settlers found across the globe.
Both siblings in Batsha's novel are engaging and bring layers of complexity to his story. On one level is the overarching tale of the island's Indian population as they face persecution from the more populous Melanesian population, led by a coup-installed General. On a deeper level is a dysfunctional yet tightly bound nuclear family led by an abusive father, a subservient mother, and the brother and sister protagonists.
I was engaged and interested in the outcome for both brother and sister. They each face challenges unique to the book's specific setting yet familiar to other oppressed peoples and refugees. If you are interested in humanity and hunger for original settings and stories, I suggest reading this book. Overall, it is a dark tale, but there is plenty within it to tug at your heartstrings and make you smile.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
montreux's review
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The cover of the book features a quote by one of my favorite authors (Amitav Ghosh) describing this book as a “moving saga” and I’m sorry to say that was not the case. What should’ve been an electrifying setting (a coup and ethnic exile) ended up being a somewhat slow, paint by the numbers plot. I really did not feel like either of the sibling’s plight had any emotional weight.
thebookcoyote's review
3.0
TW/CW: Ethnic violence, refugees, political violence, emotional abuse, murder, sex
RATING: 3.5/5
REVIEW: Mother Ocean Father Nation is the story of an Indian family who live on a small island in the South Pacific. They are faced with political unrest that turns into ethnic violence against Indians. In one family, the daughter is forced to flee to America while the son stays behind. This book is the story of those two decisions and how their lives differ.
This was not a bad book, in fact, I really enjoyed reading it. It just…could have been better. It felt to me like it was lacking something, and I can’t really put words to what that thing was, other than to say that it left me feeling rather blah when I finished the book. Maybe the book needed a little more heart? It had a lot of detail about the horrible things happening but in places, especially towards the beginning – it read more like a newspaper than a book about real, living, human beings.
Still, I did like this book. It’s not like anything I’ve read recently and tackles some very important topics, such as ethnic violence, racism, homophobia, misogyny, etc. It just wasn’t…as complete as it could have been.
RATING: 3.5/5
REVIEW: Mother Ocean Father Nation is the story of an Indian family who live on a small island in the South Pacific. They are faced with political unrest that turns into ethnic violence against Indians. In one family, the daughter is forced to flee to America while the son stays behind. This book is the story of those two decisions and how their lives differ.
This was not a bad book, in fact, I really enjoyed reading it. It just…could have been better. It felt to me like it was lacking something, and I can’t really put words to what that thing was, other than to say that it left me feeling rather blah when I finished the book. Maybe the book needed a little more heart? It had a lot of detail about the horrible things happening but in places, especially towards the beginning – it read more like a newspaper than a book about real, living, human beings.
Still, I did like this book. It’s not like anything I’ve read recently and tackles some very important topics, such as ethnic violence, racism, homophobia, misogyny, etc. It just wasn’t…as complete as it could have been.
atsundarsingh's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
I'm still thinking about how to rate this book because it's so clearly important to me and to my academic and personal life. Ultimately I like that the island is unnamed so that it can stand in for several places. More proof that there are some things only fiction can do.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Deportation, Infidelity, Misogyny, Police brutality, Blood, Classism, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Addiction, Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, and Biphobia
jfons89's review
4.0
This was a great read! An exploration of family relationships. This was emotional in the best way.
scallopbunny's review
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0