Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - China Room

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

China Room by Sunjeev Sahota

7 reviews

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!

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internationalreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective tense fast-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

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knkoch's review against another edition

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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.

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smooreorless's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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abbycummings13's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

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bookswithchaipai's review

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.0

THE BOOKER PRIZE LONGLIST 2021
CHINA ROOM – Sanjeev Sahota
Genre – Historical Fiction, India

“That a wife was a wife, there to bear sons and otherwise live behind her veil, out of the way. Her face was barely worth considering”.

This was the mindset of rural India & still is in some parts. The “chador”/veil makes it hard for a woman to identify the husband among his siblings, sometimes going a whole lifetime without knowing who it is, having to perform the marital relations in darkness. “They grow up in a prison & then get married into one.” The sadness of this thought shook me, thinking of how repressed women are. But despite that, the strong character of 16-year-old Mehar, shone through as she went about village life.

Fast forward to 1999 - Mehar’s unnamed 19-year-old great-grandson, a Heroin addict, returns to the farm to go cold turkey. He bides his time in the China Room, where Mehar was sequestered, and he feels a connection flow through him from over the years.

The 1929 rural life fascinated me – the dung patties, candle making, foraging for vegetables, delivering food to the farmworkers. Sahota’s vivid visions of village life are authentic for someone who has been to India only a handful of times.

What I loved –
- Mehar’s story of love & lust is heartbreaking – falling prey to the desire of a man because she was blindfolded by traditions.
- The Indian's cry for Azaadi from colonization is beautifully portrayed through the form of Tejh Singh’s call for arms.
- Mehar’s great-grandson, went through a process of self-discovery, making connections with people and the land, which was an insightful journey.
- The flashbacks into the great-grandson’s childhood, where he was a victim of racism in London, led to his addiction. Apart from Mehar's story, this caused me a lot of heartbreak.

I would have loved to know more about Radhika and the teacher, but it was touched on lightly.

FACT - Sahota weaved this story taking instances from his own experience in London of racism and his great grandmother, who was one of 4 veiled daughters-in-law, who did not know who the husband was.

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thecriticalreader's review

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challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I chose this as a Book of the Month add-on because the premise sounded interesting.

Plot:

China Room follows two plots, one in 1999 with a young man and another with his great-grandmother, Mehar, in 1929. Mehar’s plot is much more fleshed out than the young man’s, although both were intriguing. Ultimately, however, Mehar’s plot plays out rather predictably, and the young man’s plot fizzles out anticlimactically.

Characters:

Most of Sahota’s characters have clear defining characteristics, but none are really explored as individuals. Sahota is more interested in the factors that motivate the characters—outside influences, relationships, etc. than he is in the people themselves.

Setting:

This book takes place in a small Indian village. As someone who has never been to India, Sahota does a good job capturing the stifling nature of the village. However, it could be hard to visualize as someone with little knowledge of India and Indian history. Of course, Sahota should not feel obligated to cater to white audiences—but this was just my experience reading the book. It gives a fascinating glimpse into rural Indian culture circa 1929.

Themes:

The main theme explored in China Room is relationships. Relationships between family and lovers. Characters navigate complicated relationships in complicated circumstances, often trapped between their own desires and societal expectations. For me, thematic exploration was the most compelling part of China Room.

Writing Style:

Sahota’s writing toes the line between dense and flowery. I never got overly frustrated with his writing, but at times I felt myself skimming over descriptive paragraphs to follow the plot.

Conclusion:

China Room is a challenging yet intriguing read, especially as a white American. The plot is captivating, especially initially, even if the resolution leaves something to be desired. Mehar’s plotline is much more interesting than the plot involving her great-grandson.

Other Points:

I did not connect to Mehar’s and Suraj’s relationship. I found it reflected more lust than love, so I wasn’t particularly rooting for them to make it to the end. Suraj seemed rather entitled and creepy (he did, after all, assault Mehar). I wished Mehar would find a place where she could be herself, but that place did not seem to be with Suraj.

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