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samypants35's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a quick, fun read for me. I suppose I would define it best as a travel book, as the author travels from place to place as she composes these essays, but it could just as well fall into memoir or almost a current affairs section. The book doesn’t settle down into the places that Hariharan visits, it’s very transient. I would say the places and people are drawn in broad, colorful strokes that, while brief, are rich in detail and have the ring of truth. The descriptions were unexpectedly poetic, which was a nice change from what I have been reading. The book is very different than the travel books that I’ve read in the past, written for and by Western audiences, usually male.
One thing I noted was how subjective the essays were; Hariharan brings up her own history and understanding of a place frequently. Even her own role in the community is mentioned where she has one. She also uses literary references to begin to get into a place and then explores from there and expounds on themes from or related to that person’s writing in a way that was really engaging.
I was struck by her trip to Kashmir in particular and it brought out the author’s ability to tell people’s stories transparently in a way that feels genuine. Even the way that she tells a historical figure’s life story was compelling and particular with broad strokes of description.
The part that I liked the least was the part on Palestine that I thought were poorly served by the methods of storytelling that she used. The section was a set of stories from her time there that demonstrated the limits of her broad stroke techniques. I would have appreciated more ink spilled about the situation.
I like that each essay stood alone and served as a bridge to the disparate essays gathered in the collection. I also really enjoyed her writing on India as an Indian. It was fascinating to hear how some places are experience by someone who lives in the country. Almost Home has certainly made me more interested in visiting India and the various other places Hariharan has to discover more about the truth that lives there.
One thing I noted was how subjective the essays were; Hariharan brings up her own history and understanding of a place frequently. Even her own role in the community is mentioned where she has one. She also uses literary references to begin to get into a place and then explores from there and expounds on themes from or related to that person’s writing in a way that was really engaging.
I was struck by her trip to Kashmir in particular and it brought out the author’s ability to tell people’s stories transparently in a way that feels genuine. Even the way that she tells a historical figure’s life story was compelling and particular with broad strokes of description.
The part that I liked the least was the part on Palestine that I thought were poorly served by the methods of storytelling that she used. The section was a set of stories from her time there that demonstrated the limits of her broad stroke techniques. I would have appreciated more ink spilled about the situation.
I like that each essay stood alone and served as a bridge to the disparate essays gathered in the collection. I also really enjoyed her writing on India as an Indian. It was fascinating to hear how some places are experience by someone who lives in the country. Almost Home has certainly made me more interested in visiting India and the various other places Hariharan has to discover more about the truth that lives there.
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