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saraaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The first few chapters were great – the gentleness and simplicity with which Roy touched themes usually considered taboo or niche made for a comforting read.
The story read like an ensemble of fables, and as such its characters are only briefly focused on, barely skimming the surface of their essence, touching only those traits of theirs that are relevant to the narrative. At the end of the second chapter, I grew fond of Anjum, but the narrator keeps such a distance that she feels in a way out of reach, visible only through binoculars that follow her as she moves her residence from place to place.
After a hundred pages focusing on her character and the people and places that make up her world, I really couldn't care less about the others at they came into frame quite abruptly. This could easily have been a two novels installments, as, though surely strictly interlinked, the two main stories fail to be seamlessly bound together. It felt like she couldn't decide which story to tell, which battle to fight in, so instead of making a collection of shorter stories, she tried very hard to fit everything into a single box, full to the brim, so that the reader ends up struggling to find anything at all. It was as if Roy was trying to fit as many of her opinions as she could into these pages, and then some more.
The men's voices fell particularly flat, like heroines' in a 1800s male novelist's work.
But all in all, I'm glad I read it – it's a heavily politicized book, with even heavier themes, so definitely not a light leisure read, but offers an important perspective nonetheless.
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Grief, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Murder, Dementia, Deportation, Genocide, Classism, Mass/school shootings, Sexual assault, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, War, Kidnapping, Rape, Torture, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Confinement, Deadnaming, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
Minor: Stalking, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, and Misogyny
fuckcarsridebikes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Transphobia, Police brutality, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Classism, Torture, Pedophilia, Murder, Gore, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Blood, Animal cruelty, War, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child death, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Colonisation, Infidelity, and Hate crime
aditi_agarwal's review against another edition
3.0
Other than that, the book beautifully intertwines the struggles that the various minorities in India- gender minorities, religious minorities, caste minorities etc. have faced throughout the history of India and continue to face even today.
The parrelism between the various struggles of India, and the various struggles of the Indians often ignored and overlooked will almost well up your eyes at times, fill you with rage, with a longing for justice- but oftentimes the overly flamboyant descriptions suck the intensity out of those moments.
I am glad I picked this book up because it is informative and stirs your emotions, but i will also be honest, i almost gave up on this book many times.
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Classism, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, War, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Torture