Reviews

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

cici44's review against another edition

4.0

A story that presents complexities of life and relationships, whisks you away, & ends too soon!

chloeab's review against another edition

emotional hopeful relaxing 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

4.75

kitchenbeat10's review

emotional informative slow-paced

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

4.25

This setting is absolutely a rich one, and the setting was what excited me the most when starting the book. Malik is my favourite character, I'm sure many others feel the same too. But I detested Radha. If she had gone through all that hardship I simply cannot see how she grated on my nerves so much, but alas, she did. I did enjoy the story though. The idea of local medicinal remedies being applied with Henna was so novel to me. A good read.

rhealambe's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring 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? No

4.0

bibliobrandie's review against another edition

3.0

Read this one for book club and it neither wowed me nor infuriated me (as last month's book did). I enjoyed the story and the characters. The setting, 1950s India, was new to me and I learned a lot about the history, the caste system, and henna art tradition. Those are the things that worked for me. What didn't was the ending, it felt rushed, and also Radha made me really angry and annoyed. Also, this was just a year! I had to keep reminding myself of that because it seemed as if so much more time had passed. Coincidentally, my student book club at school is reading The Bridge Home, which is also set in India, and reading the two at the same time has been really interesting.

jemimaskelley's review

inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

nessia89's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

bpowlowsky's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad 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? Yes

4.75

dreaminthepages's review against another edition

5.0

What a fantastic quick last read of 2021! Loved the vibes from this, the messages of women empowerment and loved all the characters!

civilchick's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.75

This book started super slow, but by the end I was enthralled and couldn’t put the book down. I felt for the characters when bad things happened and was rooting for them when opportunities presented themselves. Overall, it’s a very well written story.