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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The winner of this year’ International Booker Prize. I’m not very good when it comes to short story collections, they don’t often grab me and sadly this one didn’t. This is translated from the Kannada language and the stories are about the lives of women in the Kannada community in India. These stories touch upon religion, patriarchy and the caste system. The majority are about the women, the wives who are neglected and abused, who are cast aside so that the husband can remarry, the wives who come second to their mother-in-law. The caste system also highlights the poverty some of the women suffer, one story about a woman who gives her savings to a higher caste woman so that she can buy her a coffin - which she doesn’t. The saddest story for me was the final one, a letter to Allah telling him of her life and asking him to put himself in her shoes. I’m glad that I have read this even if the stories didn;t really impact me.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
tense
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
Gorgeous. Brilliant. This collection of short stories peels back layers and layers of the experiences of South Indian women, Muslim or otherwise, and by the end it ripped apart my heart and the very fabric of the sky. The translation sacrificed nothing. Not the playfulness, the nuances of personal relationships as shaped by the home, language, and the larger social environment, or the author’s vision for the sake of the international reader’s comfort (or even understanding).
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes