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s_lorenz's review
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Infertility, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
helfire124's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Addiction, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Death, Sexual violence, Vomit, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Vomit, Excrement, Islamophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Animal death, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity
gogglor's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexism, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Classism, Religious bigotry, Infertility, and Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
The men in this text are almost all extremely shitty, but they all get what’s coming to them Also, there’s no tag for casteism, but that’s all over this book too.aimeeactually's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Rape, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Domestic abuse, Outing, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Addiction, Cursing, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Infertility, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Racial slurs, Classism, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment
swaggynikki's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
I'm so, so impressed with its cast of female characters and how complex and interesting they were. The book was feminist without feeling simplistic or overly girlbossy, and the female characters had a really admirable amount of nuance in their traits and actions and motivations. Most of them were not one-note nice or cool or perfect, but none of them felt treated unfairly by the narrative. In particular I'm really obsessed with Farah and the absolute range she was allowed to show. When I think back, I can recall and trace back each woman's individual passions and goals. No one felt like an accessory to anyone else, and I like how prickly everyone is until the end.
I really liked the realism of the book, historically and in the modern day. Because it covers gendered violence in a pretty frank way though, the book was incredibly fucking dark--I wasn't expecting it, so check trigger warnings and take breaks and such. The parts that were most disturbing to me were probably the off-the-cuff accounts of Phoolan Devi's life, which speaks to its ability to not flinch at history or reality because these woman couldn't either. The ways the characters talked about NGOs and government initiatives, it all felt like it was coming from someone who knew they were talking about. If I had to sum it up, the target audience of the book didn't feel like it was white people, which is so so SO refreshing. It wasn't trying to scare white people about how bad women have it in "those parts of the world", it didn't feel like it was begging for white charity because of how bad their standard of living is, it didn't feel like it was othering Indians with how "barbaric" or "outdated" the caste system is. It just treated people outside of the imperial core as people, who like their lives and love each other and are entirely capable of improving their world without Western help. I basically never see that, especially in fiction, and I'm really grateful that it's present here.
I'm going to be thinking about this book a lot. It's an incredibly impressive success of international feminism, and I'll be following Parini Shroff's future career with great interest.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Sexual violence
rnbhargava's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
There is evidence of all of these triggers but essentially all of it gets avenged or is discussed regarding how unfair it is. No characters performing these triggers fully gets away with anything. That said, our core group of characters also do plenty of awful things. It’s a dark comedy with murders. Brace yourself.keiwald's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Infertility, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Alcoholism, Death, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment, Violence, Torture, and Excrement
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, and Cancer
Topics include caste and sex related discrimination in India.darumachan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Body shaming
zara89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Police brutality, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Child abuse, and Islamophobia