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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Dark and devastating but weirdly hopeful. There was so much foreshadowing that broke me before anything was actually happening. The name of the book definitely makes sense after reading the whole book.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful writing. Broke my heart so many times.
This is one of the most profound books I've read in the last few years. Four lives of real people living in India in modern times, living in such a way as most westerners cannot fathom nor imagine. Yet these 4 individuals feel and think and love and cry like we all do and through the book enter our hearts and leave a piece of themselves. Can you tell I really liked the book? Nov 2006
This book is really really good, but I couldn't bear to quite finish it. It's absolutely harrowing and I was waiting for some respite for the characters which never came. After taking a long break I tried again as I felt a duty to the characters, compounded by the fact that it's based on real events. Eventually after a panic attack on the tube I had to give up and go to Wikipedia to find out what happened at the very end.
I want to weep but I am not able to because I knew what I had signed up for when I was knee-deep into this book. A series of misfortunes interspersed with short-lived moments of joy could not have possibly ended happily. Not to sound morbid, but over the past few years, I’ve found myself gravitating towards such stories, set amidst political strife with heavy undertones of loss, grief and tragedy. When I first saw the size of this book, I was discouraged but Mistry's breezy writing style as well as the storyline made me read at a whirlwind pace, like the good old times.
Initially, the question that bothered me was why must plots centered on characters belonging to a lower caste always highlight their struggles and unspeakable caste violence. But then I realized that there is a difference between looking at everything with an upper caste gaze aka trauma-porn versus trying to comprehend how Brahmin hegemony has always been responsible for generational trauma faced by lower caste people. This is not to say that the latter are not entitled to fairy-tale endings. But one must realize that their success stories and spells of happiness have always been shadowed by caste. Erasure of the mantle of caste would be wrong in such a context. One of the biggest takeaways from this book was that caste and class dictate how you cope with loss. The time to process trauma is a privilege afforded to a choice few as seen with Dina Dalal and Maneck versus Om and Ishvar.
I loved this book. It tore my heart. But I loved it.
Initially, the question that bothered me was why must plots centered on characters belonging to a lower caste always highlight their struggles and unspeakable caste violence. But then I realized that there is a difference between looking at everything with an upper caste gaze aka trauma-porn versus trying to comprehend how Brahmin hegemony has always been responsible for generational trauma faced by lower caste people. This is not to say that the latter are not entitled to fairy-tale endings. But one must realize that their success stories and spells of happiness have always been shadowed by caste. Erasure of the mantle of caste would be wrong in such a context. One of the biggest takeaways from this book was that caste and class dictate how you cope with loss. The time to process trauma is a privilege afforded to a choice few as seen with Dina Dalal and Maneck versus Om and Ishvar.
I loved this book. It tore my heart. But I loved it.
Anything I'll say or what I want to say will ever be enough of this book. I loved it.
dark
emotional
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:
No