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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I really wanted to love this book, but ended up really struggling to finish it. I loved the concept of this book and the idea of Dava Shastri and everything she created for herself and her loved ones. My struggles were grounded in how the author wanted us to feel about the main character. Dava is definitely a complex character, and I completely understand hard having a complicated relationship with her adult children, but I have a hard time believing that a woman who has created such a legacy for herself (while being so fiercely individualistic) would be so incredibly tone def about her own children’s happiness/individual identities/unique goals. The parts where Dava outlined her wishes for her children’s futures felt particularly half-baked.
This is one novel I wish I could talk about with others, so please share your thoughts if you have them!
This is one novel I wish I could talk about with others, so please share your thoughts if you have them!
I didn’t love this, but I did feel compelled to keep going. Dava is just about exactly my age, but she didn’t feel like a contemporary of mine and her experiences didn’t resonate with me. The futuristic element bugged me and just didn’t work. And plot-wise, it didn’t really go anywhere, and left me unsatisfied.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5 stars rounded up! I really loved the structure and format of this novel. It is set n the future but jumps back to the past who’s is now and further back as far as the 1990s and some nostalgia from before. The author, Kirthana Ramisetti, used current, recent and past events events from the real world to bring her story to life. And, it’s exactly that. These characters are finding themselves and exploring/remembering their relationships as part of the Shastri family, whose matriarch Dava has just faked her own death. The setup is humorous and the angles of emotion are deep and full of breadth as her adult children and teenaged grandchildren deal with the aftermath. This was just such a great and original way to tell a story. Some of the dialogue and privilege get tiresome, but I loved how ther is much more underneath the shallow icing. Very modern literature on classic recognitions of death, illness, regrets, and legacy.
The author uses other source material and my favorite bit included reference to love and relationship philosopher, Alain de Botton: “Compatibility is an achievement of love; it must not be its precondition.”
The author uses other source material and my favorite bit included reference to love and relationship philosopher, Alain de Botton: “Compatibility is an achievement of love; it must not be its precondition.”
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes