A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

3.89 AVERAGE

archana_who's review

5.0
emotional inspiring reflective 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
This started a bit slow for me but wow somewhere along the 40% mark I was grinning and giggling and gasping. On the cover, it says it's for fans of Little Fires Everywhere and The Vanishing Act, which is true, as it tackles the same invisible social rules that govern us: wealth, micro-aggressions, racial profiling. However, it feels profoundly different as well, as it is so specific to the Indian American immigrant dream. Reading the dialogue felt like deja vu of my own dinner table conversations. The perspectives of the children reflect the thoughts of my friends and me. There are nuances like caste-ism and minority privilege that are discussed boldly, despite being taboo topics. The multiple POV allows you to really understand the background of each character and why they think the way they do. And lastly the Priya-Archana friendship just gives me so much joy...mainly the fact that Priya is basically in love with Archana and gasses her up every other chapter lol.

colleenhayman's review against another edition

3.0
challenging emotional hopeful informative 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: Complicated
claudiacricket's profile picture

claudiacricket's review

DID NOT FINISH
DNF at 44% it was fine just wasn’t interested. Maybe at another time?

mac_mich's review against another edition

5.0
emotional
marisahailey94's profile picture

marisahailey94's review

5.0
emotional informative inspiring 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
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danielleaw's profile picture

danielleaw's review

4.0
A really well written and thought provoking read on racism and immigrants. Prepare to have your heart strings tugged

sandra_moore's review

4.5
emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition

4.5
4.5 stars

While this was a tough subject (treatment of immigrants by the police and racism in general), I thought this was an extraordinarily well done novel. I was immersed in this family's story when their son was facing charges by the police. It imparted information while not being didactic. The characters were nuanced and interesting, and I appreciated learning of others' experiences. 

barbloveslit's review

4.0
emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ashleyy_25's review

4.0
emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes