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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
slow-paced
This book is both glorious and difficult. The beginning is captivating, telling the origin of our protagonist, a trans woman who finds community with other outcasts. But midway we take a tangent to follow another protagonist (also captivating); her story is more of a framework on which to hang atrocity after atrocity, both general and specific. Though I learned a lot about Kashmir and religious and political conflicts in contemporary India, the novel feels like a buffet of tragedy, with loosely-connected characters conjured simply to illustrate the horrors they've been through. I think the novel would have been stronger if it were half as long, and less of a laundry list of trauma. On the other hand, Roy's language is gorgeous, so an extra hundred pages of tangents may have been worth it.
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Roy manages it again. Her writing is pure art without being stuffy or contrived. Every phrase is beautiful, even those that contain ugly things.
Every character had its own place and its own story and I loved them all, even those that I only loved to hate.
I can't sufficiently describe what this story is about. It's about people finding their places in a broken world, it's about making your own family, it's about the ugliness of war and poverty and injustice and religious excuses for turning against others, it's about fighting to stay alive, it's about love.
I loved this book and the feeling started on page one. It's not easy, nor is it light, but it is beautiful and broken.
Every character had its own place and its own story and I loved them all, even those that I only loved to hate.
I can't sufficiently describe what this story is about. It's about people finding their places in a broken world, it's about making your own family, it's about the ugliness of war and poverty and injustice and religious excuses for turning against others, it's about fighting to stay alive, it's about love.
I loved this book and the feeling started on page one. It's not easy, nor is it light, but it is beautiful and broken.
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Misogyny
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes