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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I would give it 3 1/2. Hard to understand but after about 140 pages in, I started enjoying it more. Liked learning all the political aspects and reading the beautiful detail.
"Love, after all, is the ingredient that separates a sacrifice from ordinary, everyday butchery."
The book tries to be more than it should be. Expecting "God of small things" leads only to disappointment
The book tries to be more than it should be. Expecting "God of small things" leads only to disappointment
See, here’s the thing; I struggled with The God of Small Things, so why on earth would I do this to myself? Honest answer? I haven’t a clue.
Again, I really struggled to get into this one and I struggled to maintain the reading pace, so much so that I would read maybe 2 or 3 pages before getting frustrated with it. It took a real effort to get to the end of the novel at all.
Maybe I faced the same issues I faced with The God of Small Things, in that I just couldn’t connect with the story or with any of the characters at all, but this one seemed to take even more of an effort to try and connect to.
I did not enjoy the sudden shifts in POV, genuinely had me thinking that my copy was missing a chapter because of how quickly the POV changed. Not fun.
Again, I really struggled to get into this one and I struggled to maintain the reading pace, so much so that I would read maybe 2 or 3 pages before getting frustrated with it. It took a real effort to get to the end of the novel at all.
Maybe I faced the same issues I faced with The God of Small Things, in that I just couldn’t connect with the story or with any of the characters at all, but this one seemed to take even more of an effort to try and connect to.
I did not enjoy the sudden shifts in POV, genuinely had me thinking that my copy was missing a chapter because of how quickly the POV changed. Not fun.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
This was an odd book for me. I had previous ready God of Small Things and the author's ability with evocative phrasing remains undiminished. This is a multi-narrative story, but the narratives occur in discrete blocks. As the book transitions through its major parts you could easily forget that you're in a story where the earlier parts had occurred. It's not a happy story, but less of a gut punch than the title had led me to expect. Not the most enjoyable book I've read, but a very good book nonetheless.
Jaded yet kindly; cynical but affectionate ; world-weary but understanding; funny but woeful ; clear-eyed but lyrical; angry yet philosophical; journalistic but creative; impatient but patient; macro but micro. I worship at the feet of a writer who can present an epic of such complexity with fervor and brilliance, and revile myself for being so pathetically unaware of Kashmiri politics.
I sort of enjoyed it but I admit I got lost at least half way through it - it seemed to feature a large number of sub-plots and it was quite complicated. It is a good bit of escapist reading and I feel I enjoyed reading most of it but I did find myself effectively skim reading a fair bit of it. I'm not so good when it comes to following or reading large descriptive texts.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Half read and half listened to the audiobook (which is wonderfully narrated by Roy). At times I found it a little meandering, but she ends up weaving all her digressions together so gently. Loved it and will be haunted by it for a while!!
It’s so difficult to rate literary fiction. It deserves 5* for the beautiful writing and the difficulty of the stories. However, in many books like this the narrative gets jumbled. Often it is too small, not really telling any story (which I think I prefer) but this book has so many stories it’s almost impossible to keep up.
It is a brave attempt at telling stories of Kashmir, torture, caste, war, gender problems and almost everything that is horrific in the world. I found them very hard to read not only because they are hard subjects but also because the onslaught of them was relentless (I’m sure that was the point)
If I could give stars for the title it would be zero. There was no happiness in this book and therefore it was very misleading.
I’m now going to lie in a darkened room or maybe rock in a corner.
It is a brave attempt at telling stories of Kashmir, torture, caste, war, gender problems and almost everything that is horrific in the world. I found them very hard to read not only because they are hard subjects but also because the onslaught of them was relentless (I’m sure that was the point)
If I could give stars for the title it would be zero. There was no happiness in this book and therefore it was very misleading.
I’m now going to lie in a darkened room or maybe rock in a corner.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No