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thebookrepository's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting contemporary novel about an Indian man who grew up struggling to find his place in life once his family moved to the US and continues to struggle with finding it as an adult. Our main character, Raj, makes a horrible racist joke in a small meeting in attempts to form a relationship with a new family interviewing for a slot in their local tennis club. "Members Only" follows Raj throughout the week following his faux pas and where he starts getting accused of being racist toward another group of people by his students.
This book should probably be called "Raj's Series of Poor Decisions" because I really couldn't believe some of the things he said and did. Raj is not entirely at fault for some of the accusations or situations that arose but he definitely made them worse. His inner longing to fit in with his academic and social peers must be clouded his common sense at times.
I realize as a white person, it's easy for me to have this perspective. I've never had pressure to try and "fit in" in a racial sense the way Raj and his children do. However, some of the situations in this book are pretty straightforward for everyone, regardless of race. You don't say what Raj said at the tennis club interview. You don't defend yourself by blowing up at people when confronted with differing opinions (well, obviously some do but that's not the best tactic). Making yourself the victim doesn't excuse what you've done or said in a similar situation that you've created. I'm unclear if the author wanted us to feel sympathetic toward Raj or not. For the majority of the book, I did not.
This book definitely opened up my eyes at some cultural differences and I do love reading about stories and situations entirely different from mine. Thank you to Bookish First and Mariner Books publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book should probably be called "Raj's Series of Poor Decisions" because I really couldn't believe some of the things he said and did. Raj is not entirely at fault for some of the accusations or situations that arose but he definitely made them worse. His inner longing to fit in with his academic and social peers must be clouded his common sense at times.
I realize as a white person, it's easy for me to have this perspective. I've never had pressure to try and "fit in" in a racial sense the way Raj and his children do. However, some of the situations in this book are pretty straightforward for everyone, regardless of race. You don't say what Raj said at the tennis club interview. You don't defend yourself by blowing up at people when confronted with differing opinions (well, obviously some do but that's not the best tactic). Making yourself the victim doesn't excuse what you've done or said in a similar situation that you've created. I'm unclear if the author wanted us to feel sympathetic toward Raj or not. For the majority of the book, I did not.
This book definitely opened up my eyes at some cultural differences and I do love reading about stories and situations entirely different from mine. Thank you to Bookish First and Mariner Books publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
elucht's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked this book and wish I could give it 3.8 stars. It just missed the 4 star mark for me but I enjoyed it and would recommend it to friends.
cpskee's review against another edition
It sounded great on the Nerdette podcast. Story of a professor in California & discusses racism in various settings/forms. Ultimately not compelled by the main character, so abandoned.
redbluemoon's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing an ARC!
_____________
From the beginning of this book, even from the synopsis, I knew I would feel embarrassed by what was going to happen to Raj, the narrator. I was right.
Raj, on a Sunday evening, makes a terrible racist joke, and it will be the start of one of the worst weeks of his life. From ordinary racism to debasement, from silent judgemental stares to insults, the situation will escalate until it can't anymore.
I felt embarrassment when the joke happens. I can totally understand why Raj wants to melt, to disappear, or to go back in time to unsay it. And I also get his awkwardness, his need to connect, and his failing to do so. I ached for him, and it got worse. As I was progressing, I felt indignation. Raj lives in the United States since he is 8, he is a university professor now, studying anthropology, he goes to a TC and still, people are belittling him, ignoring him, or even straight up insulting him, making him feel like he doesn’t belong. Because he is brown and born in another country. He feels different and he feels like he is used sometimes to prove that there is diversity in a place, like the TC or university. He is wondering if what he feels is real or just him being paranoid; as we progress in the book, we know it’s real.
The worst, maybe, is that he gets attacked for two different reasons, both involving a form of racism: And Raj’s life goes down really quickly: in a matter of days, nothing feels the same. Cyberviolence is portrayed here: how people don’t realise how hurtful they can be, how easy it is for them to trash someone who’s not in front of them - or someone they don’t even know in person! -, to use offensive words and to threat someone’s career, even his very life. And how people looooooooove to speak about subjects they know nothing about, be they general or personal to people around them. Infuriating.
I loved this book for bringing this talk to the forefront. I also loved being in Raj’s head and him explaining what he feels, how he feels, and why he is in such a situation. He gives us snippets of his past, of what he lived through, of how he got where he is now, of the envy he feels sometimes when he sees white people being idiots or less deserving succeeding when he stagnates or gets thrown back because of his skin colour - Plus, I also loved that he is a teacher!
About the ending:
While reading this book, I wanted to shake people and to open their eyes wide, let them see all the problematic things they’re doing, seeing, listening to without reacting. Hope it has the same effect on every reader.
_____________
From the beginning of this book, even from the synopsis, I knew I would feel embarrassed by what was going to happen to Raj, the narrator. I was right.
Raj, on a Sunday evening, makes a terrible racist joke, and it will be the start of one of the worst weeks of his life. From ordinary racism to debasement, from silent judgemental stares to insults, the situation will escalate until it can't anymore.
I felt embarrassment when the joke happens. I can totally understand why Raj wants to melt, to disappear, or to go back in time to unsay it. And I also get his awkwardness, his need to connect, and his failing to do so. I ached for him, and it got worse. As I was progressing, I felt indignation. Raj lives in the United States since he is 8, he is a university professor now, studying anthropology, he goes to a TC and still, people are belittling him, ignoring him, or even straight up insulting him, making him feel like he doesn’t belong. Because he is brown and born in another country. He feels different and he feels like he is used sometimes to prove that there is diversity in a place, like the TC or university. He is wondering if what he feels is real or just him being paranoid; as we progress in the book, we know it’s real.
The worst, maybe, is that he gets attacked for two different reasons, both involving a form of racism:
Spoiler
first, for his racist joke to Bill, a black man; then, for a lecture in which he said that Westerners filled the emptiness they felt where Christianity had been with oriental spirituality. So, he is considered both a racist and an anti-American, a Christian hater. The second situation is called “reverse racism” in the book and was really infuriating. Actually, both were. Indeed, white members of the TC committee insist on Raj apologizing publicly for what he did on Sunday evening; but, throughout the book, Raj remembers that nobody said anything when white people were insulting him, even during this Sunday evening. And he finally says it at the end of the book, in a kind of liberating speech in which he puts all the white members of the committee in front of their hypocrisy- thanks, Raj, it felt good, even if it doesn’t lead to anything unfortunately. As for the second situation, it’s frightening. As a teacher, Raj explains ideas to his students and expects a reaction leading to a discussion in class or in his office. When one of his students disagrees with him and decides to post a video of his lecture on the Internet, it goes viral and Raj is insulted and stalked. Racist comments spark all over the place and even people who don’t know him want to get him fired and have something to say.I loved this book for bringing this talk to the forefront. I also loved being in Raj’s head and him explaining what he feels, how he feels, and why he is in such a situation. He gives us snippets of his past, of what he lived through, of how he got where he is now, of the envy he feels sometimes when he sees white people being idiots or less deserving succeeding when he stagnates or gets thrown back because of his skin colour -
Spoiler
the scene with the white man at his former university pretending to fall because Raj hit him when he just wanted to get rid of him because he was disagreeing with him... nauseating.About the ending:
Spoiler
I liked that Raj gets to see Bill, and that he saves the narrator’s life. But I was sad that Raj doesn’t consider going back to the TC. He loved it and won’t go back because of what happened. I got a feeling that, in the end, they still won, and Raj gets to shush and stay home.While reading this book, I wanted to shake people and to open their eyes wide, let them see all the problematic things they’re doing, seeing, listening to without reacting. Hope it has the same effect on every reader.
nikiverse's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Raj - married professor who emigrated from India to California - is a member of a Tennis Club who gets wrapped up in (racial) controversy on almost all fronts of his life in what has to be his worst week ever.
Described as witty and woeful by the New York Times, I really kept thinking “Man, Raj can’t catch a break.”
Debut by the author, I really loved this book! Totally cried at the end?
Described as witty and woeful by the New York Times, I really kept thinking “Man, Raj can’t catch a break.”
Debut by the author, I really loved this book! Totally cried at the end?
leahrh's review against another edition
3.0
This was maybe not the best book to start reading the day of an attempted coup, but it was the only other 14-day loan book in my stack, so I felt like I should read it sooner than any others in the pile. I could certainly empathize with Raj and as a white woman, understand that I may never truly know what it is like to feel like every day requires a conscious, exhaustive attempt to fit into to a culture other than my own. That being said, Raj appeared to make poor decision after poor decision that made it difficult at times to feel sympathy for his actions and choice of words. Sure, we've all said or done something that in retrospect we wish we hadn't and of course, it may be (ok, just plain IS) more damning as a person of color, but some of the scenes and actions didn't exactly feel like "Raj trying his best" and instead felt like "Raj putting his foot in his mouth, again". I was ready to be done with this one before it quite ended.
wilsona's review against another edition
5.0
Cringey is the popular descriptor for this one. Raj, the narrator, is an Indian-American professor and member of an almost entirely white tennis country club. He’s having a particularly bad week, making one blunder after another as he tries to navigate a minefield of microaggressions and slights. We’re always on edge - both trying to anticipate his lapses in judgement and the casual racism that sloughs off so many of the people he comes into contact with. We see the exhaustion of navigating these spaces where the narrator often feels like an outsider. But, complicating that, we also see that these colleagues and tennis club members often welcome him, genuinely engage him, and count him as a member of the community. Maybe he isn’t such an outsider? He can’t figure it out and this second-guessing is part of his exhaustion.
The central tension of the book is about maddeningly familiar unfairness. Raj keeps making mistakes and is instantaneously asked to account for his actions, but no one is taking responsibility - or even acknowledging - the more subtle, constant, and systemic slights he sees everyday. He feels constant jabs of unfairness that his mistakes are scrutinized while theirs are unnoticed. To me, Raj’s mix of righteous anger and his often unsuccessful attempts at self-restraint, are what make him and the story so relatable. Haven’t we all felt like our mistakes are under a microscope while the bigger, more important things, or those that pushed us to act impulsively, are never subjected that same scrutiny and demands of accountability? Haven’t we all made a mistake but still felt compelled to dig in to make a bigger point about a more serious issue? Doesn’t it stress you out, make you laugh at the absurdity of the spiraled situation, and also make you want to keep reading? It did for me.
The central tension of the book is about maddeningly familiar unfairness. Raj keeps making mistakes and is instantaneously asked to account for his actions, but no one is taking responsibility - or even acknowledging - the more subtle, constant, and systemic slights he sees everyday. He feels constant jabs of unfairness that his mistakes are scrutinized while theirs are unnoticed. To me, Raj’s mix of righteous anger and his often unsuccessful attempts at self-restraint, are what make him and the story so relatable. Haven’t we all felt like our mistakes are under a microscope while the bigger, more important things, or those that pushed us to act impulsively, are never subjected that same scrutiny and demands of accountability? Haven’t we all made a mistake but still felt compelled to dig in to make a bigger point about a more serious issue? Doesn’t it stress you out, make you laugh at the absurdity of the spiraled situation, and also make you want to keep reading? It did for me.
sharkybookshelf's review against another edition
Raj longs to see other non-white faces at his tennis club, but accidentally makes an extremely inappropriate joke, triggering a wave of white righteousness and kicking off a week from hell.
I expected to enjoy this book, but ended up DNFing it because the writing really didn’t work for me. Pandya covers quite a few deep topics, with shrewd observations on many aspects of the immigrant experience, assimilation and white people thinking they know best because they’ve read one book about racism. Having not come across it in a novel before, I was particularly intrigued by the exploration of cancel culture within universities and students taking offence at differing opinions. However, the story is largely delivered as Raj’s rambly, verbose internal monologue - I kept disengaging and it started to feel like a slog. A story that covers a surprising number of deep topics, without getting too heavy, but I couldn’t stand the writing (you might have better luck!).
I expected to enjoy this book, but ended up DNFing it because the writing really didn’t work for me. Pandya covers quite a few deep topics, with shrewd observations on many aspects of the immigrant experience, assimilation and white people thinking they know best because they’ve read one book about racism. Having not come across it in a novel before, I was particularly intrigued by the exploration of cancel culture within universities and students taking offence at differing opinions. However, the story is largely delivered as Raj’s rambly, verbose internal monologue - I kept disengaging and it started to feel like a slog. A story that covers a surprising number of deep topics, without getting too heavy, but I couldn’t stand the writing (you might have better luck!).