Reviews

In Case of Emergency by Mahsa Mohebali

holdingabook's review

dark funny tense 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

2.75

julianananana's review

3.5

I added .5 stars for the translator's notes at the back of the book, which really grounded the twisty topsy turvey story I had just read. As a white American, the notes gave me a point of reference for this novel, and why it is/was so radical that it actually got published in Iran in the first place! Otherwise, I really didn't know where we were going, but it was pretty nice to be going there with Shadi, with her quirky sayings and her dog companion and her distressing flaws.

velzzzie's review

4.0

sad :( 

byejohn's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted 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

5.0

loureadsthem's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

javorstein's review

2.0

a lot going on. couldn't really follow the story although i think that's sort of the point—the reader, much like the narrator, is constantly lost, displaced, confused, uprooted, unable to get a stable narrative on account of the narrator always being high on opium, the late-capitalist decline in stable meaning the author supposedly alludes to, and also just the sheer chaos going on. don't speak fârsi but the translator did a great job in my opinion, maintaining the iranian cultural/contextual core of the book while also presenting both narrative and dialogue in convincingly english ways. narrator breaks from assumptions of female iranian subjects, and gender/sexuality is also kept in flux throughout the novel. all cool concepts, and i applaud the attempt in experimental literature. but experimentation involves creative risks and creative risks are just that—risks, and can flop. a good novel in concept, but not so much in execution.

caitlin_waddick's review

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Highly recommend. Highly original. 

Great translation! I loved the translator’s notes at the end. 

uvahoogirl's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

3.5

magis1105's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

 Not for me.
The way the story dragged and it had almost no plot... The characters just didn't vibe with me. I was too uninterested in them or what happened to them.
I'm sure this is a me problem 

mad_taylh's review

challenging dark slow-paced

4.0