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jayisreading's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
2.75
Well, this was somewhat of a slog for me. I found that I wasn’t very invested in the story and its characters, though, it’s not to say that they weren’t interesting.
The sections that focused on King Rao’s childhood and adolescence were the most engaging to me, especially how the caste system and being a Dalit impacted him. Relatedly, it would have been nice if Vara expanded on the complex family dynamics and how it shaped the way King perceived the world.
I thought there were fascinating aspects to this book that weren’t quite realized, but they were there and had me think about the world we’re in today. She considers people’s heavy reliance on technology and its problems connected to capitalism, the alarming issue of climate change, among others. They may be set in a fictional world, but it’s one that seems to project a disturbing and very possible future in the real world.
I had two issues with the book, which might be why I didn’t enjoy it as much. One was that I felt that many of the characters weren’t as developed as they could have been, despite making multiple appearances. They often read as an afterthought or seemed a bit detached from the story. The other issue (and the main one) was organization. It took far longer than I’d have liked to understand how the story was being told. It all felt cobbled together in a way that took away from the themes that Vara wants to bring to the reader’s attention.
I think this is going to be one of those hit-or-miss books, depending on how you like your stories told. Whatever the case, some interesting points were brought up in the book that (barely) held my attention.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Death, Classism, Medical trauma, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Suicide, Racism, and Gun violence
Minor: Ableism
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