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gbwilling's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bookwormhomebody's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ceciliasimchak's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
hamaiasa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
erklel's review against another edition
4.0
dark and twisty.
you spend almost the entire book in the mind of an aging white english professor, set in his ways but keenly observing as the campus and academic culture move further and further away from him. this is bothersome but not absolutely destroying to him; he has other things on his mind, like is obsessive lust for ruhaba, a pakistani muslim professor.
off the bat, you recognize him as an unreliable (and unpleasant) narrator. he does not become more sympathetic as his layers are revealed. but ruhaba, and her teen nephew adil, have interesting depth and become more and more intriguing. i wish we could’ve gotten more of the deeper, darker sides ruhaba — although i guess that’s the point, that our narrator Oliver would never know that side, never be able to imagine neither ruhaba nor adil that complexly.
it does have a slow start, and some of the campus politics seemed a little overwrought to me, but overall a very satisfying read.
you spend almost the entire book in the mind of an aging white english professor, set in his ways but keenly observing as the campus and academic culture move further and further away from him. this is bothersome but not absolutely destroying to him; he has other things on his mind, like is obsessive lust for ruhaba, a pakistani muslim professor.
off the bat, you recognize him as an unreliable (and unpleasant) narrator. he does not become more sympathetic as his layers are revealed. but ruhaba, and her teen nephew adil, have interesting depth and become more and more intriguing. i wish we could’ve gotten more of the deeper, darker sides ruhaba — although i guess that’s the point, that our narrator Oliver would never know that side, never be able to imagine neither ruhaba nor adil that complexly.
it does have a slow start, and some of the campus politics seemed a little overwrought to me, but overall a very satisfying read.
annaavian's review against another edition
2.0
This novel examines the political culture and the shady drama of a college in Seattle in the days before the 2016 presidential election. It is told in a chronology that alternates between a present tense and the aftermath of some terrible event which remains unclear until the very last chapters.
I personally think that Jha's attempt to tell her story through the voice of the opposite gender fell short. Men are portrayed in very stereotypical ways, starting with the deeply misogynistic, middle-aged white male who never really rises above being an avatar. Oliver Harding's growth, if it could be called that, is his downfall from workplace lust to a criminal outburst with fatality.
Ruhaba was not particularly likeable either, the sharp and opinionated contradictory character was simply used for shock value at the end without any real purpose.
This book tried to be complex and intense but it missed the mark for me.
I personally think that Jha's attempt to tell her story through the voice of the opposite gender fell short. Men are portrayed in very stereotypical ways, starting with the deeply misogynistic, middle-aged white male who never really rises above being an avatar. Oliver Harding's growth, if it could be called that, is his downfall from workplace lust to a criminal outburst with fatality.
Ruhaba was not particularly likeable either, the sharp and opinionated contradictory character was simply used for shock value at the end without any real purpose.
This book tried to be complex and intense but it missed the mark for me.
ikehara's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
structured through a confession, THE LAUGHTER is narrated by oliver harding, a 56 year old white male english professor who develops an obsession with ruhaba khan, a recently hired pakistani muslim law professor, who lives with her young nephew, adil alam, from france. the novel moves in and out of harding's recollection of his relationship with both ruhaba and adil while he also comments on the present timeline of ongoing FBI investigations surrounding the main mystery of the novel.
most people who know me know that if there's any genre i will read voraciously, it's the novel of obsession set within academia. VLADIMIR by julia may jonas, MY EDUCATION by susan choi, MY NEMESIS by charmaine craig were all novels that i enjoyed, so when i read the synopsis of THE LAUGHTER by sonora jha, i was excited. but i was also hesitant because of its point of focalization, and my hesitancy was justified. this novel is a very difficult read because you're lodged so deeply in the mind of a racist, horny, and entitled white man for the entire duration of the novel. there were multiple times that i nearly gave up on the book because it was just too disgusting. the gendered baggage we bring to our understandings of obsession and the line of where it becomes disgusting is something that all of these novels engage to different extents. VLADIMIR and MY NEMESIS, for example, are also narrated by racist and horny white people, albeit women. i won't belabor this point but i will say that there is definitely a distinctiveness to the abrupt and blunt nature of the violent language in THE LAUGHTER.
at the same time, the novel itself, and especially its very spectacular conclusion, are highly critical of whiteness and white institutions. in that way, there's a tension between the novel's argument and its form. it's critical of the space that white male voices take up, and the sentence to sentence work it does reveals the mundanity and violence of something as seemingly "natural" as desire. but the novel itself platforms this voice so as to critique it. it subjects us to its violence so as to create that visceral response of disgust and absurdity. i don't think a novel or any art has to inherently be about the reader's pleasure or happiness. good narratives should challenge and unsettle us, should recognize and work through complexity and contradictions. i acknowledge this and understand the author's intent, but i still question why we need another white male voice in a culture overpopulated by white male voices.
i won't say that the novel should do this, or be narrated like that, but the novel is violent on multiple levels, period. we can and should discuss the WHY of its violence and what utility it serves us but that tension means that i can't and won't wholeheartedly recommend this novel to most people. i was torn between two and three stars, but just on a reader level, what kept me reading when everything told me to stop was my curiosity in the mystery or the novel. and i think that the critique of the novel is bold and worth lingering on.
most people who know me know that if there's any genre i will read voraciously, it's the novel of obsession set within academia. VLADIMIR by julia may jonas, MY EDUCATION by susan choi, MY NEMESIS by charmaine craig were all novels that i enjoyed, so when i read the synopsis of THE LAUGHTER by sonora jha, i was excited. but i was also hesitant because of its point of focalization, and my hesitancy was justified. this novel is a very difficult read because you're lodged so deeply in the mind of a racist, horny, and entitled white man for the entire duration of the novel. there were multiple times that i nearly gave up on the book because it was just too disgusting. the gendered baggage we bring to our understandings of obsession and the line of where it becomes disgusting is something that all of these novels engage to different extents. VLADIMIR and MY NEMESIS, for example, are also narrated by racist and horny white people, albeit women. i won't belabor this point but i will say that there is definitely a distinctiveness to the abrupt and blunt nature of the violent language in THE LAUGHTER.
at the same time, the novel itself, and especially its very spectacular conclusion, are highly critical of whiteness and white institutions. in that way, there's a tension between the novel's argument and its form. it's critical of the space that white male voices take up, and the sentence to sentence work it does reveals the mundanity and violence of something as seemingly "natural" as desire. but the novel itself platforms this voice so as to critique it. it subjects us to its violence so as to create that visceral response of disgust and absurdity. i don't think a novel or any art has to inherently be about the reader's pleasure or happiness. good narratives should challenge and unsettle us, should recognize and work through complexity and contradictions. i acknowledge this and understand the author's intent, but i still question why we need another white male voice in a culture overpopulated by white male voices.
i won't say that the novel should do this, or be narrated like that, but the novel is violent on multiple levels, period. we can and should discuss the WHY of its violence and what utility it serves us but that tension means that i can't and won't wholeheartedly recommend this novel to most people. i was torn between two and three stars, but just on a reader level, what kept me reading when everything told me to stop was my curiosity in the mystery or the novel. and i think that the critique of the novel is bold and worth lingering on.
lis_perrin's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t even know where to begin with this book…I know I say that a lot in reviews, but this one has really left me speechless. It tells the dark tale of power and obsession within academia and is set against the backdrop of the 2016 election.
Our tale is narrated by Oliver Harding an older white male professor who becomes so lustfully engaged in the life of a fellow colleague Ruhaba Khan a Pakistani Muslim law professor. Ruhaba takes in her estranged nephew Adil after he falls into the wrong crowd in his home of France—Oliver takes this as an opportunity to grow closer to Ruhaba by being a mentor to her young nephew. We quickly learn of darkness lingering in everyone’s past while the world around them is preparing to go up in flames.
I do not know what else to say other than everyone should read this book. It should be a required reading on why white supremacy ideologies are harmful to everyone and why continuing to uphold them is not a sustainable future for us. This writing is so powerful in the emotions it provokes from you. I’ll admit it was hard to get behind a white male narrator for obvious reasons, but I’m so glad this is how Jha chose to tell this haunting tale. I urge you to pick up a copy of this book I promise you, you will not want to put it down.
Our tale is narrated by Oliver Harding an older white male professor who becomes so lustfully engaged in the life of a fellow colleague Ruhaba Khan a Pakistani Muslim law professor. Ruhaba takes in her estranged nephew Adil after he falls into the wrong crowd in his home of France—Oliver takes this as an opportunity to grow closer to Ruhaba by being a mentor to her young nephew. We quickly learn of darkness lingering in everyone’s past while the world around them is preparing to go up in flames.
I do not know what else to say other than everyone should read this book. It should be a required reading on why white supremacy ideologies are harmful to everyone and why continuing to uphold them is not a sustainable future for us. This writing is so powerful in the emotions it provokes from you. I’ll admit it was hard to get behind a white male narrator for obvious reasons, but I’m so glad this is how Jha chose to tell this haunting tale. I urge you to pick up a copy of this book I promise you, you will not want to put it down.