Reviews

All the Words Unspoken by Serena Kaur

southasianbooks's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is a huge breakthrough and it should be read by EVERYONE.

Serena Kaur effortlessly focuses on so many issues within the South Asian community in her first novel. From mental health to abortion to abuse and homophobia. Whilst dealing with all of these themes, the author also succeeds in developing a lovable character inside of an exciting plot.
I bought this book on Kindle since all the book stores are closed at the moment and even though I usually hate using it, I genuinely couldn't stop reading once I'd started. It took me less than a day as I was gripped from start to finish.
At one point I had guessed the plot twist and yet, when I was reading the exact part I had already predicted, I was still interested and excited because of how well it was written. The rest of the book was a surprise with each development and the whole story flowed so well, including the backstories of the main characters, Maansi and Aryan, which were consistent and complimented the characters personalities throughout.
The parts that sit with me the most in this book are most likely different from the parts that sit with someone else and that's because the two main characters have been through and then go through so much throughout the entirety of the book that I can't imagine anyone not finding this book informative. Even if you don't relate to the parts such as arranged marriage or the homophobia within the community, you empathise with the characters because of the way that Kaur has developed them throughout.
Overall, this is an amazing book, it's so important and I really hope Kaur gets the credit she deserves for this.

(Side note: I finished this book at around midnight and I typed out a crazy message to Serena on instagram expressing how much I loved it and she was really sweet when responding so if I could, I'd give this an additional 5 stars because of how kind she was).

[b:All the Words Unspoken|49663376|All the Words Unspoken|Serena Kaur|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586616205l/49663376._SY75_.jpg|74852492] [a:Serena Kaur|19840489|Serena Kaur|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1585517085p2/19840489.jpg]

puddles_of_ink's review against another edition

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

3.0

Didn't connect with the main characters, and found it difficult to truly like them or believe their relationships and interactions, which made it difficult to rate this higher. However, the side characters are portrayed better, and some excellent South Asian representation here. Very much appreciated the exploration of highlighting views towards homosexuality within the South Asian community, but the ending felt too filmy and inconclusive.

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hayley20's review against another edition

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

4.5

Loved it all up until the ending, I felt it teetered off a little but was still nice to have closure

literatureeverafter's review against another edition

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4.0

I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

NOW THIS IS HOW YOU DEVELOP A CHARACTER!!

This book centres around the idea of arranged marriage and the mystery behind the person you are meant to call your partner.

The author beautifully gives us a three dimensional view of all the characters! including a nice little twist into the background and personality of our protagonist’s husband.

it explores the culture around arranged marriages perfectly without over embellishing the thoughts and feelings of our leading lady.

If you want to read more into mental health, different cultures and the idea of love after marriage, then you need to pick this up!

faeryjess's review against another edition

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3.0

I feel like this book's description on Amazon was a bit of a bait and switch. I thought I was buying a book about a woman with depression and how she handles it while marrying a hot dude and working out why he's so mysterious – and also they're Indian, so there's the whole mental health vs Indian culture storyline. And that's what this book was for about a third of it. Ticking along nicely.

Then suddenly, it becomes an entirely different book. (Stop reading now if you don't want spoilers.) Now it's about the hot Indian dude who married our girl with depression only he didn't know she had any mental health issues but that seems irrelevant because he's actually bisexual and fell in love with his best friend back in college and his parents found out and sent him to conversion therapy in India and he came back and made lots of money in the family business and let his parents arrange a marriage for him but he never really stopped loving his best friend and now he has to hide who he truly is. That old trope.

Hot Indian dude and his best friend get back together (yay!!) and he says a bit FU to his horrible dad. So that all ends well. Then at this point, our girl seems to be adrift, oh and by the way, pregnant. And then it ends.

Obviously, this is all just my opinion, and as a white person, life as an Indian person with mental health issues or queerness is outside my realm of experience.

While this book wasn't bad and did raise what seem to be some important issues regarding how Indian culture handles both mental health and queerness (again, she says from her position of white privilege), it felt confused. Almost like it should have been two books. One about the girl dealing with depression, and another about the guy who never got over his best friend and their secret love. Or if those two stories need to be mashed up together, at least give it some better resolution.



have_you_read_this's review against another edition

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5.0

This was fantastic, heartbreaking, enlightening, honest. Review to follow on www.haveyoureadthis.co.uk

pretty_little_bibliophile's review against another edition

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4.0

Thanks to Lizzie from #RedDoorPress for providing the e-arc. This does not in any way influence my rating. All opinions expressed are my own.
I rated this book 3.75 stars

All The Words Unspoken was a great book for me to have picked up for the #AsianReadathon. Apart from the obvious Asian rep (Indian, to be specific) the book also focuses on various other important issues.
The main message I seemed to get from the novel was that we cannot depend on others to heal us or make us whole. Rather, we need to fall back upon ourselves to work on our growth and development. Yes, external forces such as family and friends are there to support us (or not), but the ultimate determiner is we ourselves. We cannot let others determine our worth!
When it comes to the characters, their arc was a bit disjointed - especially that of Aryan, I feel. We get a slight glimpse of him towards the beginning and then only towards the, we are bombarded with his POVs. As such, it was kind of difficult for me to retain the fact that this is the same guy. When the story started I genuinely thought it was Maansi's story but as it progressed, of course, it wasn't just hers alone. Yet I do think the story focused more on Aryan and less so on Maansi.
Perhaps if the author had decided to reveal Aryan's POVs a litter sooner, the story would have gone way more smoothly.
The themes covered were like sexuality, homophobia, family, marriage as an institution, societal norms, etc. I do think the idea was a great one and the author did well by mixing all of these together especially in the Indian expatriate community, you could say, where culture, religion, etc play a big influencer in all the decisions the characters make. The way the author has weaved in the different nuances of human behavior, based on nad affected by, external forces, events, experiences, and memory, added a great flavor to the narrative as well.
I also feel that it was a bildungsroman or a coming-of-age story for the two main characters who underwent growth and changed from who they were in the beginning. It is also a story of sexual awakening in a manner, and the author pulled off that aspect really well. And in this regard, I can definitely consider this book along the same shelf as CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.
I rate it 3.75/5 stars.

felcast's review

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emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

littleshelfofkate's review against another edition

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5.0

“Rakhee looked at Maansi and regurgitated the timeworn response advocates for arranged marriages waved like banners: ‘Love will grow.’”

I finished this book in under 12 hours, I sat awake until 3:30 in the morning to finish it. I couldn’t put it down, and when I did all I could think about was picking it back up again.

This is about a woman called Maansi and a man called Aryan, and how they try to navigate their new arranged marriage. A highly unconventional story about love, loss, and rebirth.

Serena has an incredible way of writing about difficult topics like depression and the pressure that can be felt within a very tight knit and orthodox community, where every move you make is speculated and gossiped about.

I highly recommend reading this earth shattering book.

rhirhireader's review against another edition

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3.0

Perfect title! This book was very frustrating at times. Kept wanting Maansi to open up and speak up.
But I also loved her, bless her kind heart.
This is a story that tackles many difficult yet important topics, and does so very well I think.
I would describe it as part brokeback mountain and part east is east.
Maansi and Aryan are two young people, lost within their religion. A marriage is arranged for them and although this is not what Maansi really ever wanted, all things point to it being the best decision.
After uni, Maansi's life changed rapidly. Getting to know her new husband proves difficult, and uncovering his past feels like torture to her already messed up head.
I felt so bad for her, but although major issues took over most of her life, I believe Maansi was a lot stronger than even she believed.
The last part of the story was mostly Aryans '.... I didn't enjoy these parts too much, not the plot, but just the over detailed descriptions of his school days.
But it ends well, and leaves many questions that I feel is clever for a book like this.
I think Maansi is the true hero of the story.