Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - A Place for Us

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A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

9 reviews

rayreyes's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-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

5.0

This book crept out of the woodwork and captured my heart. It was beautiful to witness the love and wounds within a family and the humanity of regret. This book felt like a gift to the parts of myself navigating the story of my family and the ways love can be present even when seemingly absent. I’m not religious, but the ending was so beautiful that it gave me something to hold dear when I think on the afterlife. Truly a beautiful story.

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augie_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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cass_ward's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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beth_48's review against another edition

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reflective tense slow-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

2.5

I was really looking forward to reading this, I really liked the style of writing. I wish there was more of a story, it was a struggle at times to pick the book back up and carry on reading.

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foxowl2005's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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kirstym25's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-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

3.5

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prrrrrsh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

Absolutely loved this book, until the last section. Very moving, honest and raw. An intimate look into a Muslim american family and the ways that our actions and words affect those closest to us. The only thing that knocked it down half a star for me was the the final part, when the POV switched to the father’s. I felt like it over-explained and lost some of the emotion that came from the character’s actions in the first sections of the book.

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saracatalyst's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

A Place for Us is a beautiful book about family, generational change, and finding your place in the world. The specific context is a Muslim Indian family in which the parents are immigrants and the children are first generation Americans. As a white woman who studied STEM, I had little prior knowledge of these cultural intersections to draw on going into this book. I feel like a learned a lot and the author did a good job of providing a nuanced and complicated image of both the culture and the specific characters. The character development was great for most of the characters, but I felt like the middle child, Huda, was largely left out of much of the story. The narrative is nonlinear and made me think of The God of Small Things in some ways.

Overall I would recommend this book. I could understand some people liking it less than me if you really need a story to be plot-driven or fast paced. There's plenty of plot, but large sections are primarily character-driven, and the book is on the longer side. I'm always a big fan of family epics like this. If you liked Pachinko, I could see you really enjoying this book.

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mark_kivimaki's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

A Place for Us is a beautiful portrait of a Muslim, Indian-American family's struggle for belonging amongst themselves and their society. Mirza does a great job exploring and developing each character's perspectives, and the writing is atmospheric and immersive. While a slow burn, it's a compelling and enrapturing read.

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