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nikkiacat's review
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Ugh. I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but after the fire and Samir leaving Lahore things went downhill quick. Don't get me wrong, it was very well written, and I did enjoy the information about Partition. I'm very into historical fiction set in Asia and recently India in particular, so I really wanted to like this. But God, I just couldn't. I was so sick of Samir by the last 50 pages, I finally gave up and skimmed them and it just made me angrier.
Samir just came off as a self centered asshole. He was such a dick to poor Lea, neglecting her and his daughter and giving more attention and kindness to a dead woman he never met (Ambrette) than his own wife he chose to marry and his daughter he chose to have. And every time after Lea got sick of him and divorced him when he said "we didn't love each other, I don't know what it was but it wasn't love." Which is such a punch in the face because Lea clearly loved him. I struggled to get past how selfish and awful Samir was. And I hated Firdaus being almost dropped from the story entirely, it was pretty much like, no freedom for you, you're not allowed to work or be educated, no more helping your father with calligraphy, all your talent and intelligence will be wasted locked inside. I quite liked her relationship with her cousin husband, I wish we'd seen more of that, but no. It was all about the pity party Samir sad train. And I hated how they had kids as nothing but a way to lead to their grandkids acting as expys for their great unfinished love. Like both of their daughters were totally fine almost abandoning their children to live with their grandparents? Literally Firdaus' daughter was like "Okay I'm moving cities bye!"
I feel cheated and robbed, genuinely. Such a promising start turned out to be a total waste of my time.
I feel cheated and robbed, genuinely. Such a promising start turned out to be a total waste of my time.
pazley's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
suchita's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
4.25
disha_mt's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
The pain and pleasure of memories is what drives the stories in this novel. It is touching and in so many words, urges readers to really understand the depth and unwavering nature of mohabbat. Please do read. It is thoroughly researched to avoid historical inaccuracies.
hemisha's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- 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
5.0
rachele's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
siddaqkler's review
3.0
all i wanted was a tragic love story. all i got was a 400-page thesis on how to make perfumes. i understand that a lot of research went into this book and i respect the author's hard work, but this nook was 90% data and 10% story (but the 10% story is what saved it from a DNF).
swaksha_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
amandamillwood's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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