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sarahlopod's review against another edition
4.0
You can also find this review on my blog.
cw: homophobia; sex; infidelity; racism; drunk driving; sexual assault/csa
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.
We lived through the lives of our future selves, passing our remaining days in a fugue.
My rating for each story:
god of destruction 4/5
hare rama, hare krishna 4/5
hey, loser 4/5
just a friend 4/5
if you see me, don’t say hi 3/5
the taj mahal 4/5
the other language 3/5
these things happen 4/5
an arrangement 3/5
world famous 4.5/5
radha, krishna 5/5
I should have felt guilty. I should have felt ashamed. I felt everything but.
My average rating was 3.86 stars, rounded up to 4. This was a beautiful collection of short stories. It only took me about two and a half hours to read through them all and I found myself thinking about them a lot in between sessions. In fact, several of the stories have stuck pretty hard with me since finishing the book.
There are a lot of characters with grey morality; you can understand their actions, but at the same time you know that they’re not necessarily doing the right thing. I found this to be really effective, as I was constantly torn with how I felt about them. There were only a couple characters who I outright disliked and even then, I still felt sympathetic towards them.
I definitely recommend getting your hands on a copy of this if you can.
cw: homophobia; sex; infidelity; racism; drunk driving; sexual assault/csa
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.
We lived through the lives of our future selves, passing our remaining days in a fugue.
My rating for each story:
god of destruction 4/5
hare rama, hare krishna 4/5
hey, loser 4/5
just a friend 4/5
if you see me, don’t say hi 3/5
the taj mahal 4/5
the other language 3/5
these things happen 4/5
an arrangement 3/5
world famous 4.5/5
radha, krishna 5/5
I should have felt guilty. I should have felt ashamed. I felt everything but.
My average rating was 3.86 stars, rounded up to 4. This was a beautiful collection of short stories. It only took me about two and a half hours to read through them all and I found myself thinking about them a lot in between sessions. In fact, several of the stories have stuck pretty hard with me since finishing the book.
There are a lot of characters with grey morality; you can understand their actions, but at the same time you know that they’re not necessarily doing the right thing. I found this to be really effective, as I was constantly torn with how I felt about them. There were only a couple characters who I outright disliked and even then, I still felt sympathetic towards them.
I definitely recommend getting your hands on a copy of this if you can.
mjbirdy's review
4.0
bought this book last summer for no other reason than it was on sale, I thought the title was funny and I liked the beautiful brown panels that make up the cover.
I had no idea what it was about, but I am pleased to report only good things about the 11 short stories that make up this book.
I should say I’m not normally a massive fan of short stories, only because I always feel like I want more of everything, and I struggle to get invested in characters.
I did not have this issue with these stories (except the one with the sisters Tara and Sarah lol).
The stories allow the author to explore all kinds of themes and concepts, from family, diasporic influence, loss, pain, greed, class, constraints of community, communication, race, stereotypes, so rural expectation and so much more.
These characters are human in the rawest sense, they are flawed and make mistakes and sometimes don’t get a chance to fix those mistakes.
I was struggling to get back into reading and this book made it a joy.
I had no idea what it was about, but I am pleased to report only good things about the 11 short stories that make up this book.
I should say I’m not normally a massive fan of short stories, only because I always feel like I want more of everything, and I struggle to get invested in characters.
I did not have this issue with these stories (except the one with the sisters Tara and Sarah lol).
The stories allow the author to explore all kinds of themes and concepts, from family, diasporic influence, loss, pain, greed, class, constraints of community, communication, race, stereotypes, so rural expectation and so much more.
These characters are human in the rawest sense, they are flawed and make mistakes and sometimes don’t get a chance to fix those mistakes.
I was struggling to get back into reading and this book made it a joy.
chazzerguy's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this... Very entertaining and a fairly short/quick read. Very intense characters throughout, and an interesting insight into Indo-American life in this day and age.
aneekar's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I enjoyed many of the stories and the perspectives Patel employs. Many themes were revisited throughout the different stories. A fast read.
readwithshiggy's review
5.0
If You See Me, Don’t Say Hi follows the stories of Indian-Americans navigating love, careers, and culture. Once I learned that this book actually existed, I knew I had! to! have! it! because honestly when do we ever see South Asian people falling in love and existing together in any form of western media? Why is unrealistic Bollywood my only chance to see people like me in love? So I definitely had high expectations going into this— and man, I was not disappointed!
All of the characters throughout this book were multifaceted, flawed, complex. And none of the stories were solely about the journey of accepting one’s culture/family because yes, there is so! much! more! to South Asian American youth. The stories feel heavy because of Neel’s writing style and they always end unresolved— which I loved because that’s legit life and love for you. Overall, I read the whole thing in one sitting, and the last two stories (especially Radha, Krishna) will probably stay with me for a while. Highly recommend, even though you’ll probably be heartbroken and hurt by the end (but like, in the best way!) 5/5 stars.
(copied from my book review on Instagram @readwithshiggy!)
All of the characters throughout this book were multifaceted, flawed, complex. And none of the stories were solely about the journey of accepting one’s culture/family because yes, there is so! much! more! to South Asian American youth. The stories feel heavy because of Neel’s writing style and they always end unresolved— which I loved because that’s legit life and love for you. Overall, I read the whole thing in one sitting, and the last two stories (especially Radha, Krishna) will probably stay with me for a while. Highly recommend, even though you’ll probably be heartbroken and hurt by the end (but like, in the best way!) 5/5 stars.
(copied from my book review on Instagram @readwithshiggy!)
itsssupo's review
4.0
Whoops I forgot to update but I finished this book and man oh man was it a trip. Some of the writing was a bit too sexual or descriptive for my taste BUT I have never felt more seen or heard while reading a book. This was a very uplifting yet sad read, and I didn’t want it to end. My mom wanted to read it and she’s not a first generation Indian-American so it will be kind of funny to hear her opinion of it.
UPDATE: my mom liked it.
UPDATE: my mom liked it.
thishannah's review
This was a frustrating collection. There were a lot of good aspects: the characters were relatable and believable, the stories were easy to get into, and there was a strong thematic throughline between them all. But the endings drove me crazy. Almost all of them were like mini epilogues to the full story, like when a movie tells you what happened to the characters after the fact while the credits roll. I wish there had been more ambiguity and uncertainty--it left very little room for me to wonder about the characters once a story ended.
dawn_dickerson's review
2.0
not sure how this ended up in my queue, but very much not my cup of tea.