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amberlivian's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
It's a better holiday book.
I was waiting for a climax or a sort of conflict. I suppose that's just personal preference
I was waiting for a climax or a sort of conflict. I suppose that's just personal preference
julesreadsallsorts's review against another edition
3.0
I can’t quite decide what I think about this book – think I have absorbed it’s main character’s indecisiveness! It certainly was an easy read, sentences were very short and simple but the emotions were communicated well, even if not probed. Sometimes there were random and perhaps startling observations, seemingly unconnected to previous sentences. I felt there was a potential for depth but it was never explored and the disconnectedness between the stories and chapters left a lacklustre impression. The last 3rd of the book started to annoy me, character’s dithering became irritating. Overall it lives me without a strong opinion: it provided an OK read for a couple of hours but I wouldn’t seek out more of this type of writing.
mrlockyer's review against another edition
1.0
Nothing happens for 254 pages. This was painful. She had a series of relationships, never satisfied, and floated between lives and jobs. She was the girl at every teenage party crying in the kitchen.
leilaghanbar's review against another edition
3.0
Detailed story of a life. There sre times we think we want something, but when we get it or are close to get it we find out it is not what we truely want. Deep between the lines, shows a girl looking to settle down yet when she is close enough she realises it is far from her personality. She simply wanted it because others had it.
88nmpd's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
It seems like the author tried to use every possible adjective to describe the main character’s passive aggressive mood. Without any character arch, it seems like Sisyphus constantly pushing the boulder up the mountain, or a merry-go-round repeating its trajectory and path.
perihaan's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
thebookemperor's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
bookgazing's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this story of a woman finding herself (in three countries) through a series of bad relationships & mediocre jobs; especially the naturalness of the dialogue.
cthornhill's review against another edition
1.0
I could not have been more disappointed by this book. Getting through it was like wading through treacle and if I hadn’t been reading it for a book club there are a number of points where I would have given up.
Picking up the book I immediately thought of ‘Another Country’ by James Baldwin and the bar was set high. I thought possibly this story would be a nod to that; exploring love and longing while addressing race, class and sexuality. Well reader, it was not.
The first thing to say about the book is that there is absolutely no character development. Not an iota. I know no more about Leela’s upbringing, her class, how her race has affected her life, how her inner workings are manifested, than I did at the beginning of the book. As for other characters, they float in literally as names and then disappear again. This means it is almost impossible to build any empathy for them and so the story falls flat.
The second thing to say is that the story makes no sense. Because we can’t understand the motivations of Leela her flitting between Paris, London and Bombay comes across purely as a plot device. In addition no time is taken to bring these cities to life, no lush descriptions of Bombay exist, no intricate understanding of London is laid bare and no detailed illustration of Paris ever appears.
The final reason I’ve given a 1 star rating is for a small incident in the middle of the book of completely unnecessary racism. As I’ve mentioned, sadly there is no exploration of the way Race has affected the characters lives, and for the most part it’s never even mentioned, even for Leela. However in a bar in Bombay in the corner of the room we meet “a large, quite drunk black man”, I was intrigued by him and hoped a new and interesting character
was being introduced, but no. Moments later they leave the bar but not before saying of the man “he looks a bit like a drug dealer”. It was such a small point, it had literally no effect on the plot and it’s so obviously an odious racist stereotype. I stopped reading for a week and only agreed with myself to continue because I would draw attention to it in this review.
Overall, this book is lazy, lazy caricatures, lazy plots, no descriptions, no development. I can’t really understand how it was published let alone nominated for prizes. Unless you absolutely have to read it I’d steer well clear.
Picking up the book I immediately thought of ‘Another Country’ by James Baldwin and the bar was set high. I thought possibly this story would be a nod to that; exploring love and longing while addressing race, class and sexuality. Well reader, it was not.
The first thing to say about the book is that there is absolutely no character development. Not an iota. I know no more about Leela’s upbringing, her class, how her race has affected her life, how her inner workings are manifested, than I did at the beginning of the book. As for other characters, they float in literally as names and then disappear again. This means it is almost impossible to build any empathy for them and so the story falls flat.
The second thing to say is that the story makes no sense. Because we can’t understand the motivations of Leela her flitting between Paris, London and Bombay comes across purely as a plot device. In addition no time is taken to bring these cities to life, no lush descriptions of Bombay exist, no intricate understanding of London is laid bare and no detailed illustration of Paris ever appears.
The final reason I’ve given a 1 star rating is for a small incident in the middle of the book of completely unnecessary racism. As I’ve mentioned, sadly there is no exploration of the way Race has affected the characters lives, and for the most part it’s never even mentioned, even for Leela. However in a bar in Bombay in the corner of the room we meet “a large, quite drunk black man”, I was intrigued by him and hoped a new and interesting character
was being introduced, but no. Moments later they leave the bar but not before saying of the man “he looks a bit like a drug dealer”. It was such a small point, it had literally no effect on the plot and it’s so obviously an odious racist stereotype. I stopped reading for a week and only agreed with myself to continue because I would draw attention to it in this review.
Overall, this book is lazy, lazy caricatures, lazy plots, no descriptions, no development. I can’t really understand how it was published let alone nominated for prizes. Unless you absolutely have to read it I’d steer well clear.
harrietgordon18's review
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5