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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!).
life_of_wine_and_books's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mbt1963's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
bookaddictpnw's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
jshube's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alisonj's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
readingtheend's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
2.0
- very strong when teasing out the complexities of racism, microaggression, and the immigrant experience
- I felt deeply uncomfortable about the fact that the Black couple to whom the MC says the racial slur have virtually no interiority. The story's about Raj, and the Black couple (especially the wife) are an afterthought.
- Many things about this book were great but in the end it felt like the author hadn't fully considered the ramifications of writing a book about how a non-Black person feels about saying a racial slur to a Black couple.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism