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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Slow burn, but satisfying journey and conclusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, War
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
if this were my first book by arundhati roy, i may have rated it higher and reviewed it in a better light. however, knowing how well the god of small things was written, i think this shines relatively less. there were interesting characters this time around as well, but less of a plot.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Did not finish. Stuck with it for 171 pages but couldn't force myself to keep plowing through the verbosity, the introductions of characters who may turn out to be, but often just aren't, significant. I don't like when authors seem to be purposefully opaque. It feels antagonistic. This book reminded me of Rushdie, whom I admire but don't really enjoy, for similar reasons.
Is flowery prose enough to make a book?
To say The Ministry of Utmost Happiness was pretty bad would be a huge understatement, especially considering how often these words are used to describe books less worse. There is just simply no reason to read further than the first few chapters.
I have read The God of Small Things, and greatly enjoyed it. It was a wonderful, lyrical representation of Indian fiction, a splendid example of our people and the way we learnt to weave our oppressor's language.
But this story reads so poorly, like it was written through the eyes of someone who has never known what it’s like to be trans, or poor or even conflicted internally. It over exaggerates and under represents many struggles of a community, shamelessly- as if a journey of transition and yearning can be monetised through pretty words and nothing to back them.
The author does manage to stay true to the way she writes and delivers what her readers have come to expect in terms of rhyming, rat tat tat prose but she falls short when it comes to establishing a story that a reader could empathise with, become one with.
The reason I love to read fiction and have always gravitated towards books with intricate writing is because the story keeps you hooked. It’s as simple as that. And while I have always believed that the mark of a good book is how it pulls you in and keeps you in, it felt like this story wanted nothing but for me to stop reading.
A similar sentiment is extended towards my feelings for academic writing- it is as if Plato wrote The Republic without care of readership. But that was not Plato’s fault, philosophy has always been written to confuse.
Unlike him and the language of his time, Arundhati Roy’s prose and my understanding of it exist in the same era. In the same century. To expect a novel to read like a novel is only a small expectation, but when not met induces a torrent of irritation strong enough to compel me to write my first bad book review in many years.
Overall, not worth it if you’re looking for a good book to read. But good enough to start an animated conversation.
To say The Ministry of Utmost Happiness was pretty bad would be a huge understatement, especially considering how often these words are used to describe books less worse. There is just simply no reason to read further than the first few chapters.
I have read The God of Small Things, and greatly enjoyed it. It was a wonderful, lyrical representation of Indian fiction, a splendid example of our people and the way we learnt to weave our oppressor's language.
But this story reads so poorly, like it was written through the eyes of someone who has never known what it’s like to be trans, or poor or even conflicted internally. It over exaggerates and under represents many struggles of a community, shamelessly- as if a journey of transition and yearning can be monetised through pretty words and nothing to back them.
The author does manage to stay true to the way she writes and delivers what her readers have come to expect in terms of rhyming, rat tat tat prose but she falls short when it comes to establishing a story that a reader could empathise with, become one with.
The reason I love to read fiction and have always gravitated towards books with intricate writing is because the story keeps you hooked. It’s as simple as that. And while I have always believed that the mark of a good book is how it pulls you in and keeps you in, it felt like this story wanted nothing but for me to stop reading.
A similar sentiment is extended towards my feelings for academic writing- it is as if Plato wrote The Republic without care of readership. But that was not Plato’s fault, philosophy has always been written to confuse.
Unlike him and the language of his time, Arundhati Roy’s prose and my understanding of it exist in the same era. In the same century. To expect a novel to read like a novel is only a small expectation, but when not met induces a torrent of irritation strong enough to compel me to write my first bad book review in many years.
Overall, not worth it if you’re looking for a good book to read. But good enough to start an animated conversation.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes