Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

19 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative 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? No

3.0

A very nice book, and it’s always fun to read books set in places I’ve already been, but that’s all I can really say about it. The drama wasn’t really dramatic. I guess it’s the kind of book that mirrors the kind of life I like living. A few tense moments, but they were really resolved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Death of parent, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Abortion

henrismum's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

3.25

First by author
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: Since this is a popular book, it may have come as a recommendation.
Will I read more of the series / author?     Probably Not     Maybe    Highly Likely
This was a good read that took me to India. The stories of the three women were compelling. The story of their mother's death was sad, but understandable.
The narrators were Soneela Nankani and Deepti Gupta. I don't know which did the most narrating, but they were both good.
Source: Queens Library

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Grief, Abortion, Colonisation, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Minor: Sexual violence, Infertility, and Miscarriage

sabs98's review

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was so wonderfully written. The author's skillfulness in painting a portrait of each character is amazing; she does this by switching points of view to show the sisters from all perspectives and by describing memories of their pasts that arise as they are navigating new and uncomfortable situations on the pilgrimage together. The most compelling thing about this story is how real and relatable everything is to me as a child of immigrants: everything including their experiences of their ancestral land after having grown up in the West, the pressure and guilt unintentionally imposed on second-generation kids when they fail to meet even the smallest of their parents expectations, the anger and shock at the harmful and unjust patriarchal ways that pervade every part of life. Each sister carries childhood trauma, and the ways in which it plays out in their adult lives makes sense. The author is able to connect everything together so well, every character and every minor plot point has a sensible purpose. Balli Kaur Jaswal might just be my favorite author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abortion, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Infertility, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Police brutality

Minor: Alcoholism

jordan_noel's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.25

I was expecting this book to be about three sisters reuniting while grieving over their newly-deceased mother. I was not expecting so many important societal issues to follow.

This book talks about the patriarchy (specifically in India), MeToo and women's rights movements, female feticide, marriage, spirituality, and how to connect and adapt to different situations in order to preserve the most important relationships.

I loved these characters and grew closer to them as they slowly learned to trust one another and deconstruct the difficulties of their childhoods together. The only real flaw to me was that the characters didn't feel entirely real as they began to transition into a better relationship with each other. It was close, but just not quite there I don't think.

Overall, I thought this book was great and necessary for anyone learning to sacrifice a bit of their pride to repair lost connects with people they love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Abortion, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Police brutality, Rape, Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

There is a section of the book (maybe 1 page detailing the event and 10 pages mentioning it) about police brutality. In this same area, a group of girls recite sexual assault statistics and detail a rape that occurred recently in a major city---it's very news-like. One character has an alcohol dependency, but it's only really mentioned in the first third of the book and she's making efforts to escape it from the time we know her. One character is in a toxic relationship and experiences emotional and physical abuse. There are heavy instances of misogyny and sexual harassment for the characters once they're in India.

Additionally, a big theme of the novel is women being forced to abort female fetuses in traditional Indian families.

Several characters get pregnant and one experiences multiple miscarriages. The book starts with the characters losing their mother to cancer. The daughters grieve their mother throughout the story as they fulfill her final wish for them.

drawmeabookreview's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Gaslighting and Infertility

Minor: Terminal illness, Cancer, and Suicide

suz_n_van's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Abortion, and Suicide

saliwali's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Medical content, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Mental illness, Animal death, Bullying, and Grief

emmsco's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, and Abortion

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Miscarriage

zomigi's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide, Infertility, and Miscarriage

dominic_t's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

I loved Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, and I loved this one as well. 

This is a story about a complicated family. It brings to mind the Leo Tolstoy quote from Anna Karenina: "All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." The Shergills are a uniquely unhappy family. The three sisters are only left with each other after their mother dies, and their underlying conflicts immediately start bubbling to the surface after they head to India to fulfill their mother's last wish. They are all keeping secrets from each other because they don't trust the others to understand. They have a lot of baggage from a difficult childhood, and they judge each other's adult choices.

The pacing of this was excellent. There are hints about the secrets that the sisters are hiding, and the buildup pays off. The revelations are spaced out well to keep the reader engaged. 

This is a really great book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Cancer, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abortion and Animal cruelty