Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Swimming in the Monsoon Sea by Shyam Selvadurai

3 reviews

atuin's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

If I had a nickle for every queer coming of age story with cousin romance, I'd have two nickles, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.
This story had some beutiful descriptions of Sri lanka, and did a good job exploring the turmoil a young man feels when 14. Unfortunatly, I found myself really disliking the main character, and had a hard time staying invested in his plight. I understand that 14 is an immature age, and some of my dislike comes from remembering how I was at that age, but that did not make it easier to inhabit his thoughts. The story has a rythm of a long stroll with a sudden rough turn of the trail near the end. It is an interesting style, but not one I enjoyed very much. I think this is a good book, and the low ranking is purely my personal enjoyment of it. 
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ruthhelizabeth's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was incredibly beautifully written. The descriptions of Sri Lanka were beautiful and vivid and the audio book narrator was fantastic. 

I found the plot hard to follow, and like some others on here, I found the
sexual attraction Amrith had for his cousin quite disturbing to read, especially as it was never really grappled with. It was as if the queerness was the real issue, which I found tricky to deal with. Where homophobia was challenged, this topic was not, and it disturbed me that it was in a YA book unchallenged at any point.


I think I am more sensitive to this than most, so I think others would still very much enjoy this book, but it wasn't totally my cup of tea for that reason. 
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vale_pie's review

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1.0

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