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readwithmeemz's review against another edition
3.0
I received an ARC of this book from Indigo Head Office.
Honestly, as excited as I was about this book (a novel about a Hijra in India), it fell a little flat. First things first, I was a little disappointed to learn that Anosh Irani did not interview a Hijra until after he had written his first draft of the book. That seems presumptive to me, and if [you] want to write about a population that is so often shafted, and not talked about, it is important to lend them an authentic voice.
As obvious as Anosh Irani's talent as a writer it, it felt a little like he was trying too hard to be gritty. It often seemed disjointed, and I felt like he was just trying to 'shock'. For example, there would be a few sentences that were powerful, and beautifully written, and then all of a sudden, there would be a jarring word or metaphor thrown in - it seemed random and unnecessary, like the author was just trying to go for shock-factor.
I get that Madhu, and many of the other individuals in the book have a really tough go of things, and that their lives are miserable and that it's not going to necessarily be an optimistic novel, it was frustratingly gritty and dark and frustrating. There wasn't a single character I really liked (which I didn't actually mind in this case). However, this book was a bit difficult to get through. It was a little confusing at times, I still don't think I completely understand what happened at the end - it sort of felt like the whole plot built up incredibly slowly, but then the end was rushed and confused and I think that made it lose some of its poignancy.
Honestly, as excited as I was about this book (a novel about a Hijra in India), it fell a little flat. First things first, I was a little disappointed to learn that Anosh Irani did not interview a Hijra until after he had written his first draft of the book. That seems presumptive to me, and if [you] want to write about a population that is so often shafted, and not talked about, it is important to lend them an authentic voice.
As obvious as Anosh Irani's talent as a writer it, it felt a little like he was trying too hard to be gritty. It often seemed disjointed, and I felt like he was just trying to 'shock'. For example, there would be a few sentences that were powerful, and beautifully written, and then all of a sudden, there would be a jarring word or metaphor thrown in - it seemed random and unnecessary, like the author was just trying to go for shock-factor.
I get that Madhu, and many of the other individuals in the book have a really tough go of things, and that their lives are miserable and that it's not going to necessarily be an optimistic novel, it was frustratingly gritty and dark and frustrating. There wasn't a single character I really liked (which I didn't actually mind in this case). However, this book was a bit difficult to get through. It was a little confusing at times, I still don't think I completely understand what happened at the end - it sort of felt like the whole plot built up incredibly slowly, but then the end was rushed and confused and I think that made it lose some of its poignancy.
myrdyr's review against another edition
4.0
This was not an easy book to read; it is filled with tragedy, heartbreak, and so much betrayal. I felt so badly for Madhu and her life experiences. All she wanted was love and acceptance, and it was painful to witness recollections of her life with her family and the realization of how Gurumai, the person who she thought would give her these things, betrayed her and exploited her for profit. In a book filled with atrocities, Gajja is the one bright spark, but his life has also been filled with sadness. Even the ending doesn't result in a happily ever after. While depressing, this book is a worthwhile read. Recommended.
ronanmcd's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I did not enjoy reading this book. I hated my time reading it. You cannot describe the experience as enjoyable. It hurts. The text traps you, intentionally.
This is a world I didn't know or understand. I had to Google so many things, some of them painful: eunuchs, surgery, sex trafficking.
But I persevered because I owed it to the book, to the characters and to the real world it reflects. I started to read it to understand this world I knew nothing about.
Ultimately though it comes with little good. Each of the characters can justify their actions to themselves, but really they prolong everyone else's misery. Each act of charity throughout is a double edged sword, and is often a push in a certain direction before the recipient has decided. The charitable acts take their future from them. And even when the see a future it is pulled from under them. It's unrelenting.
That's exactly what makes it a thought provoking look at sexual slavery.
This is a world I didn't know or understand. I had to Google so many things, some of them painful: eunuchs, surgery, sex trafficking.
But I persevered because I owed it to the book, to the characters and to the real world it reflects. I started to read it to understand this world I knew nothing about.
Ultimately though it comes with little good. Each of the characters can justify their actions to themselves, but really they prolong everyone else's misery. Each act of charity throughout is a double edged sword, and is often a push in a certain direction before the recipient has decided. The charitable acts take their future from them. And even when the see a future it is pulled from under them. It's unrelenting.
That's exactly what makes it a thought provoking look at sexual slavery.
garima_bisht's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
andrew61's review
4.0
It is difficult to describe the experience of reading this book which in one breath exposes the worst of humanity whilst on the other the author leaves a very small window of hope in the individual. The book in its themes deals with kidnapping and trafficking of young girls for prostitution and the narrator of the story is Madhu ,a Hijra ( eunuch) , who from adolescence has found her way into a Mumbai brothel but is called upon to tame the parcels as they arrive terrified in their new Mumbai 'home' .
The book is terrifying and at times the depiction of brutality to children was difficult to cope with but as it is a story based on reality it felt necessary to complete. Madhu is however a wonderfully drawn character as are the stories of those around her and but for the horror I was completely absorbed in her tale.
A brave book and one that I am glad I read although it left me sad at the end about the inhumanity exposed. The small chink of light ultimately did not resolve the ultimate despair and with a word of caution that the themes will may not be ones that every reader will want to face.
The book is terrifying and at times the depiction of brutality to children was difficult to cope with but as it is a story based on reality it felt necessary to complete. Madhu is however a wonderfully drawn character as are the stories of those around her and but for the horror I was completely absorbed in her tale.
A brave book and one that I am glad I read although it left me sad at the end about the inhumanity exposed. The small chink of light ultimately did not resolve the ultimate despair and with a word of caution that the themes will may not be ones that every reader will want to face.
lilycatherinex's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
lilycatherinex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
scribepub's review against another edition
The material can be desolating, but Irani generates plenty of black comic detail, evoking the vividness and moral ambiguity of the best Indian noir.’
Cameron Woodhead, The Saturday Age, Pick of the Week
The Parcel is a magnificent novel, with powerfully imagined characters who yanked me into their lives from the first page and would not let go of me until the last. It is bold, bawdy, tender, funny, sorrowful, all that life is made up of, and when I did reach the end I felt abandoned.
Anita Rau Badami, Author of The Hero’s Walk
Immersive and devastating, The Parcel is a searing tale of personal transformation amid toxic patriarchy. Madhu is at once pathetic and honourable, despicable and mighty — and imbued with such complexity, Irani brings dignity to all the transgender sex-workers of India.
Rajith Savandasa, Author of Ruins
Harrowing, enraging, unexpectedly humorous, and also profoundly sad, The Parcel is a haunting work of fiction that illuminates the ways in which history, both political and personal, pervades the present day.
Lauren B. David, Trevor Ferguson, and Pasha Malla (2016 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize Jury)
As engrossing as any thriller, Anosh Irani’s fourth novel offers readers so much more … The Parcel captivates with its vividly rendered characters and commands the reader’s attention by way of unnerving — and at times profoundly disturbing — portraiture of an abject group at the bottom of an already denigrated community at the heart of India’s booming financial hub, Mumbai … Irani’s compassion for these discarded souls, and the assertion of their essential dignity, renders them simultaneously touching and distressing.
Quill & Quire Starred Review
Part of the way this excellent book heals such a sprawling, horrifying reality is with beauty and religious depth.
The Globe and Mail
Deeply etched in man’s inhumanity to man and his capacity for both depravity and redemption.
Courier Mail
Irani’s portrait of Madhu and her community is tender and heroic, comic and tragic, dignified and destitute all at once.
The Skinny
The Parcel is such a fantastically moving novel … one of the most heartbreaking and fascinating novels I’ve read all year.
Lonesome Reader(blog)
Madhu is an ambiguous figure in many ways, and Irani delves deeply into her sad past among a world of outcasts. Pulling its readers’ sympathies in conflicting directions, The Parcel is a challenging novel, sharp and uncompromisingly written.
Sunday Herald
Cameron Woodhead, The Saturday Age, Pick of the Week
The Parcel is a magnificent novel, with powerfully imagined characters who yanked me into their lives from the first page and would not let go of me until the last. It is bold, bawdy, tender, funny, sorrowful, all that life is made up of, and when I did reach the end I felt abandoned.
Anita Rau Badami, Author of The Hero’s Walk
Immersive and devastating, The Parcel is a searing tale of personal transformation amid toxic patriarchy. Madhu is at once pathetic and honourable, despicable and mighty — and imbued with such complexity, Irani brings dignity to all the transgender sex-workers of India.
Rajith Savandasa, Author of Ruins
Harrowing, enraging, unexpectedly humorous, and also profoundly sad, The Parcel is a haunting work of fiction that illuminates the ways in which history, both political and personal, pervades the present day.
Lauren B. David, Trevor Ferguson, and Pasha Malla (2016 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize Jury)
As engrossing as any thriller, Anosh Irani’s fourth novel offers readers so much more … The Parcel captivates with its vividly rendered characters and commands the reader’s attention by way of unnerving — and at times profoundly disturbing — portraiture of an abject group at the bottom of an already denigrated community at the heart of India’s booming financial hub, Mumbai … Irani’s compassion for these discarded souls, and the assertion of their essential dignity, renders them simultaneously touching and distressing.
Quill & Quire Starred Review
Part of the way this excellent book heals such a sprawling, horrifying reality is with beauty and religious depth.
The Globe and Mail
Deeply etched in man’s inhumanity to man and his capacity for both depravity and redemption.
Courier Mail
Irani’s portrait of Madhu and her community is tender and heroic, comic and tragic, dignified and destitute all at once.
The Skinny
The Parcel is such a fantastically moving novel … one of the most heartbreaking and fascinating novels I’ve read all year.
Lonesome Reader(blog)
Madhu is an ambiguous figure in many ways, and Irani delves deeply into her sad past among a world of outcasts. Pulling its readers’ sympathies in conflicting directions, The Parcel is a challenging novel, sharp and uncompromisingly written.
Sunday Herald
kanjichris's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Transphobia
Moderate: Outing, Death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence
shaythereader's review against another edition
5.0
Madhu is a forty year old transgender sex worker, who lives in Kamathipura, the red light district in Bombay, India, an area full of poor people, prostitutes, females rejected for being AIDS positive, and young girls sold by their families into sex slavery.
Rejected by his own family for being too effeminate, Madhu seeks acceptance in the hijra community, India's third sex, where Gurumai, a hijra guru, takes him as one of her disciplines and provides him with the love his family had denied him.
" There is a term for me in almost every Indian language. I am reviled and revered, deemed to have been blessed and cursed, with sacred powers. Parents think of me as a kidnapper, shopkeepers as a lucky charm, and married couples as a fertility expert. To passengers in taxis, I am but a nuisance. I am shooed away like a crow. Everyone has their version of what I am. Or what they want me to be."
With beautiful language and strong characters, the author tells stories of different people who live in kamathipura, stories full of rejection, love, and the search for acceptance in a world of prostitution, sex slavery, and child trafficking.
Rejected by his own family for being too effeminate, Madhu seeks acceptance in the hijra community, India's third sex, where Gurumai, a hijra guru, takes him as one of her disciplines and provides him with the love his family had denied him.
" There is a term for me in almost every Indian language. I am reviled and revered, deemed to have been blessed and cursed, with sacred powers. Parents think of me as a kidnapper, shopkeepers as a lucky charm, and married couples as a fertility expert. To passengers in taxis, I am but a nuisance. I am shooed away like a crow. Everyone has their version of what I am. Or what they want me to be."
With beautiful language and strong characters, the author tells stories of different people who live in kamathipura, stories full of rejection, love, and the search for acceptance in a world of prostitution, sex slavery, and child trafficking.