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ellen_suth's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Just beautiful - beautiful story, prose, characters, everything.
TW: there are scenes where the main character’s consent to sex is very dubious, i.e. she doesn’t really understand what she’s consenting to, and other characters take advantage of this. Something to be aware of!
TW: there are scenes where the main character’s consent to sex is very dubious, i.e. she doesn’t really understand what she’s consenting to, and other characters take advantage of this. Something to be aware of!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racism, Drug abuse, Addiction, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Colonisation
knkoch's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A deeply sad look at the way oppressive societal structures can make human life almost impossible, particularly for those at the bottom of the hierarchy. It’s a twin tale from the perspective of a young Sikh bride and her eventual great grandson: she lacks the freedom to even look her husband in the eye, and he is choking under the weight of intense racial discrimination in Britain. Both resist as they search for some kind of freedom or transcendence of their circumstances.
These two narratives are well paired, but it was a hard read for me. I found Mehar, the young woman, more compelling, and sometimes her story ended in suspense with a sudden shift to the unnamed young man’s narrative. The story overall angered and saddened me.
These two narratives are well paired, but it was a hard read for me. I found Mehar, the young woman, more compelling, and sometimes her story ended in suspense with a sudden shift to the unnamed young man’s narrative. The story overall angered and saddened me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Racism
faloneran's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
bookishbrenbren's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This book tried to be a story about two interwoven stories, one set in millennial India, one set in 1929 India, amidst the country's growing independence movement. The first story, about a 15-year old bride wed to one unidentified brother of three is, I believe, supposed to be about the struggles women in early-twentieth century India faced and how those women and girls might make attempts to exert control or autonomy over their own lives and bodies and the challenges they would face as a result. The second story is about a young man, fresh out of high school, struggling with addiction and using a trip to India as a chance to get away from his demons. Honestly, I didn't think the two stories wove together very well at all, they seemed like completely dissonant stories which were connected only by a family line, three levels removed.
My problems lie mainly with the first story. Not only does this story barely pass the Bechdel test, it's a sloppy attempt at writing women (girls) in general. My first issue is the fact that a grown man wrote a story about a 15-year old being forced to marry someone she's not only never met, but never even SEEN and instead of giving any page space to the absolute terror one must feel in being forced to have sex with an unknown husband, and the bodily invasion, lack of physical autonomy, etc. that seems obvious in such a case, he wrote instead about her falling in love with her jailor. And of course, because a man can not write a book about an adolescent girl without being creepy (PROVE ME WRONG) there's a scene of her touching herself (albeit fade to black) to thoughts of her unknown husband. then her brother in law seduces her, which threatens to ruin her life, and when she discovers his betrayal, is she crushed?? Oh no, she falls in love with him. ;aldfja;lk ale // oh sorry my eyeballs rolled into the back of my skull
My problems lie mainly with the first story. Not only does this story barely pass the Bechdel test, it's a sloppy attempt at writing women (girls) in general. My first issue is the fact that a grown man wrote a story about a 15-year old being forced to marry someone she's not only never met, but never even SEEN and instead of giving any page space to the absolute terror one must feel in being forced to have sex with an unknown husband, and the bodily invasion, lack of physical autonomy, etc. that seems obvious in such a case, he wrote instead about her falling in love with her jailor. And of course, because a man can not write a book about an adolescent girl without being creepy (PROVE ME WRONG) there's a scene of her touching herself (albeit fade to black) to thoughts of her unknown husband.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Addiction
leekaufman's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Addiction
ladymirtazapine's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
booking_along's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
„she’ll wonder if that is the essence of being a man in the world, not simply desiring a thing, but being able to voice that desire out loud.”
“it’s different for women, isn’t it? they have no choice in where they go. they grow up in a prison and then get married into one.”
“it’s different for women, isn’t it? they have no choice in where they go. they grow up in a prison and then get married into one.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, and Infidelity
emmagreenwood's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
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