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buttercupgrid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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? N/A
3.75
madamelacy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.75
megatsunami's review against another edition
4.0
The pacing was a little slow initially and some of the coincidences were a little TOO coincidental, but I enjoyed the author's use of viewpoint to gradually unfold/ develop your understanding of the characters and their relationships.
kdhanda's review against another edition
3.0
Having read other books by Suri, I was disappointed by The City of Devi.
Future, apocalyptic world, set in Mumbai where world is beset by dirty bombs and ethnic violence. In the midst of all the chaos, a man and a woman are looking for the one they love. So far so good and then the plot unravels. And it never quite comes back together.
In short, skip this one and pick up another Suri book. The Age of Shiva is a tighter read.
Future, apocalyptic world, set in Mumbai where world is beset by dirty bombs and ethnic violence. In the midst of all the chaos, a man and a woman are looking for the one they love. So far so good and then the plot unravels. And it never quite comes back together.
In short, skip this one and pick up another Suri book. The Age of Shiva is a tighter read.
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
When we think about the end of world as we know it, do India and Pakistan feature as the places that will start it all? We should: they both have nuclear capabilities. The City of Devi is set in a world where a movie, Superdevi, has inflamed passions to such an extreme that Pakistan has declared that they will bomb Mumbai. The Muslims and Hindus are fighting it out, bombs are exploding in cities far away from India and chaos is reigning.
In the midst of this is Sarita, relatively newly married to Karum, an astrophysicist. Their marriage is... not intimate, and Sarita is trying to fix that but one day Karum essentially disappears. Rather than flee Mumbai (as her family has done), she stays, seeking him and trying to bring him a pomegranate to remind him of their love. On the way she survives a bomb scare, a train bombing and meeting Jaz, a Muslim who is also (we learn, although Sarita doesn't know until later) seeking the love of his life - Karum.
What separates this from the run-of-the-mill love triangle with bisexual twist is the setting: an apocalyptic Mumbai filled with sectarian violence and passions. The intricacies of the Muslim/Hindu hatred coupled with the Devi story (and various Devi incarnations) add to the sense that this isn't just your usual story.
ARC provided by publisher.
In the midst of this is Sarita, relatively newly married to Karum, an astrophysicist. Their marriage is... not intimate, and Sarita is trying to fix that but one day Karum essentially disappears. Rather than flee Mumbai (as her family has done), she stays, seeking him and trying to bring him a pomegranate to remind him of their love. On the way she survives a bomb scare, a train bombing and meeting Jaz, a Muslim who is also (we learn, although Sarita doesn't know until later) seeking the love of his life - Karum.
What separates this from the run-of-the-mill love triangle with bisexual twist is the setting: an apocalyptic Mumbai filled with sectarian violence and passions. The intricacies of the Muslim/Hindu hatred coupled with the Devi story (and various Devi incarnations) add to the sense that this isn't just your usual story.
ARC provided by publisher.
indyreadrosa's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book by this author I have read. Some event has happened. Our characters have to travel across Mumbai as threat of nuclear war looms over everything. We flash back to the before time and while they are traveling until everybody intersects. A gay, Muslim, Indian man who spent a lot of time in the U.S., a gay Hindu man who nonetheless decides to get married and the new wife who only finds out the connection after crossing most of the city.
I know I did not pick up on all the specific Hindu or Indian subtexts but even knowing that I found it a very rich and enjoyable book.
I know I did not pick up on all the specific Hindu or Indian subtexts but even knowing that I found it a very rich and enjoyable book.
eliasiexil's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
slow-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? It's complicated
4.25
mustardseed's review against another edition
4.0
the joy of reading a novel again! speed reading in 4 days to meet the library deadline~
"i think of all the bodies in motion, creating their own trajectories."
this book became more enjoyable after i started reading it from a broadly satirical perspective (was pretty slow on picking up on that, ngl - maybe a reflection of how much the world is dying? this book was written in 2013 but the depictions, while exaggerated, of religious divide and violence terrifyingly echoes the rise of hindu nationalism in india until today, stoked by the dominant political party).
it's written in the two perspectives of sarisa and jaz, which i felt quite effective - their voices were distinct, and the fact that the perspective only switched after quite a long while, with more frequent change at the end, allowed me to get acquainted with them individually. jaz's voice certainly does make sarisa's sound a lot flatter though because of the dramatism of his character - but i can't decide if him referring to himself in third person is cringey or funny. there are a number of descriptions of sex but majority didn't feel particularly erotic (the straight sex was a bit painstaking if anything, the gay sex wilder but not in detail). honestly the real question i kept hving is why did everyone love karun so much? (or maybe that's the point - that that's just how desire and love works - it just happens, and has nothing to do with the person, but rather the connection.) overall, an enjoyable and well written read, id say good for speed-read but perhaps also for more in depth thought and slow savouring :)
"perhaps this is the place to stop. and acknowledge these myriad paths along which we strive [...] the bruised earth hurtles along, hoping to survive."
"i think of all the bodies in motion, creating their own trajectories."
this book became more enjoyable after i started reading it from a broadly satirical perspective (was pretty slow on picking up on that, ngl - maybe a reflection of how much the world is dying? this book was written in 2013 but the depictions, while exaggerated, of religious divide and violence terrifyingly echoes the rise of hindu nationalism in india until today, stoked by the dominant political party).
it's written in the two perspectives of sarisa and jaz, which i felt quite effective - their voices were distinct, and the fact that the perspective only switched after quite a long while, with more frequent change at the end, allowed me to get acquainted with them individually. jaz's voice certainly does make sarisa's sound a lot flatter though because of the dramatism of his character - but i can't decide if him referring to himself in third person is cringey or funny. there are a number of descriptions of sex but majority didn't feel particularly erotic (the straight sex was a bit painstaking if anything, the gay sex wilder but not in detail). honestly the real question i kept hving is why did everyone love karun so much? (or maybe that's the point - that that's just how desire and love works - it just happens, and has nothing to do with the person, but rather the connection.) overall, an enjoyable and well written read, id say good for speed-read but perhaps also for more in depth thought and slow savouring :)
"perhaps this is the place to stop. and acknowledge these myriad paths along which we strive [...] the bruised earth hurtles along, hoping to survive."
nanditalaks's review against another edition
3.0
City of Devi- fitting third vertex to the trilogy. Interesting premise, formulaic masala with a twist and sharp writing barring few cliches.
doomcow's review against another edition
2.0
Beautifully written with unique, interesting characters. I enjoyed the book, but felt as if the third act was wrapped up too quickly. Or maybe it drew out too long and should have ended a few chapters before.