Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Tell Me How to Be

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Tell Me How to Be by Neel Patel

16 reviews

mj1847's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.5

Content Warnings

mcz_reads's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

I was swept away by this book. The novel is divided into four parts, and throughout each part the POV frequently switches between the two main characters, Akash and Renu. The small segments from each character’s perspective made this book a quick read, and the immersion into each character’s emotional and memories drove me to finish the book in 24 hours.

This brief story shows the effects of racism, classism, homophobia, and misogyny experienced externally and internally by a minority community. The character arc for each narrator was handled well. I would have liked the savor their resolutions a little longer—the end felt very abrupt after such a slowly paced story. The pace was really the only aspect I wish had been handled differently; for the first part of the book, the flashbacks to the past were more interesting than anything happening in the present. The timelines become more balanced as the book progresses.

The scope of this book feels small, but that’s not a bad thing. I got the sense that this book is meant to tell a very specific story about these individual characters. But I think the specificity is what makes the book meaningful.

Content Warnings

leah_alexandra's review

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was pretty good. It was well-paced, and I think the two narrators were well developed and fleshed out. Overall though I wasn’t blown away. At times I felt as though I had read this story before, and other versions have impressed me more. Some parts felt cliched, especially (despite what other reviewers have seemed to find) the depictions of the casual racism of all the “nice” white women in the book. I’m definitely here for takedowns of racism cloaked in white folks’ “politeness” or “curiosity,” but would have loved these versions to have more specificity—they felt tired to me.

Content Warnings

natalieba's review

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective slow-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

4.0

Content Warnings

nini23's review against another edition

Go to review page

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wasn't too taken with Patel's book of short stories If You See Me, Don't Say Hi, some of the faults from there have carried over. The relationship between Akash and Jacob and this prototype of messed up young gay brown guy with cultural baggage gives me the nagging feeling I've encountered this character before. After rifling through my bookshelves, it's an amalgation of Patel's previous characters and Shyam Selvadurai's Shivan in The Hungry Ghosts. The majority of the male characters in Tell Me How To Be are doctors, again a complaint I had from the other book, surely there are other professions that Indian American diaspora go into?

My favourite part of the novel has to be Renu's scathing take-down of her white bookclub. Renu and her best friend Chaya together are a hoot. However, I wish that miscarriage wouldn't be used as lazy shorthand writing stand-in for female emotional trauma. Furthermore, miscarriages are common (a third of pregnancies) but most of Patel's main female characters seem to suffer from repeated ones at which point this would necessitate further medical investigation. Also, I don't buy the perfect Gary Stu nature of Renu's husband Ashok, overall the whole Kareem-Renu-Ashok relationship conundrum and resolution left me nonplussed - sincerely hope it's not a patriarchal finger wagging at married women to be satisfied with who they have and stay within their boundaries.

Content Warnings

ana_distracted's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is slow paced but it pulled me in quickly and held my attention throughout the story. Tell Me How To Be is one of the best books I’ve read this year – really one of the best books I’ve ever read. The story focuses on the characters’ struggles and their family dynamics. It explores how trauma in one generation affects the next generation and how keeping secrets from family members damages relationships. I enjoyed the slow peeling away of the main characters’ experiences to explain their present-day choices and motivations.

My one criticism of this story is that one of the characters seemed to be an alcoholic but at some point, the character just decided to stop drinking too much. This seemed unrealistic and to minimize the hard work and of facing an addiction.

I recommend listening to the audiobook. The narration is amazing! Vikas Adam is so good at doing the different voices, that I had to check that there wasn’t more than one narrator.

I received an advance audiobook from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Content Warnings

More...