Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

22 reviews

paronomaniac's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Colonisation

Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, Confinement, and Blood

lefthandlou's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

I loved this! I found the central mystery to be interesting, with a satisfying conclusion and nice twists. The historical aspects of life in 1920s Bombay and Calcutta were fascinating, and I adored Perveen’s character, especially. Looking forward to the other two in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, and Murder

caebrown's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Murder, Bullying, Body shaming, Blood, and Child death

Minor: Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Medical content

erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a book that was recommended to me as I was interested in reading something set in the 1920s. My quick review reads:
Indian girl study's law, marries badly, flash forward to after she is qualified, she is legal council for 3 widows and then murder! whodunit?

This is a historical fiction mystery and so it has a few inserts of some fairly antiquated practices. Falling foul of tradition, Perveen is captured by her husband's family and forcibly detained during her monthly "unclean time". This could be hard to read for some people, as it also deals with women who suffered and died in similar situations before such practices of traditional Zoroastrian culture were challenged and fazed out in the face of modern medical science. The rest of the story has a backdrop of the attitudes toward marriage, arranged marriages and the rules and attitudes toward marriage and its annulment in India in the early 20th century.

Perveen is a subversively anachronistic character. She meddles and fights for the rights of women, and when she finds three widows in religious seclusion from men, have signed away their inheritance to a charity, Miss Mistry smells a rat. Presuming that someone is manipulating the women, Perveen Mistry undertakes to use her privileged position as a woman trained in law, to meet with these women who will not speak to a man outside of their family, and inform them of their Legal Rights.

Soon after the women start questioning things, their caretaker is bloodily murdered, and the meddling Perveen is not prepared to back away and let the police violate these women's religious seclusion.

Oddly, this story was quite fun, if dire in places. It was informative and seems well researched. It gives a nuanced view of how the 1920s in India differed from UK and USA in the 1920s. One of Perveen's friends is expelled from her school for being overly intimate with another girl.. oops. Seems a bit of an aside, but I guess it's better than not dealing with the topic at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Child death, Blood, Mental illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Infertility, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence

faduma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Death, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Confinement, Sexual violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

heather667's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Incest, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Grief

Minor: Lesbophobia, Rape, Suicide, and Homophobia

desert_side_notched's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Grief, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

tamarant4's review

informative inspiring mysterious 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

3.75

“A woman has a lifetime for reading. A whole week every month!” Mrs. Sodawalla said. Perveen didn’t quite know what she meant by that... [p. 132]

Perveen Mistry, daughter of a prominent Parsi lawyer, is the only woman solicitor in Bombay. It's a heavy responsibility, and she is fettered by patriarchal conventions and pervasive misogyny. India in 1921, with its multiple ethnic and religious groups -- Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and others -- comprises a bewildering array of laws, customs and loyalties. There are initiatives to educate women (though Perveen had a miserable time at a Bombay law school, eventually studying in England) and more women entering the professions: but even a well-educated woman of good family cannot avoid sexist behaviour and ancient, oppressive traditions.

When a woman's signature appears to have been faked, Perveen is ideally placed to intercede: the woman in question is one of the three widows of Omar Farid, and they are purdahnashins, women who stay 'behind the veil' and don't speak with men. A lady solicitor? No problem -- at least for the widows. Their estate trustee, Mr Mukri, seems to have his own ideas about the dead man's wealth and the widows' assets: he is hostile to Perveen. And she is the one to find him dead ...

I enjoyed this very much, though the backstory of Perveen's relationship with a dashing young Parsi fellow, Cyrus, is a brutal depiction of tradition at its worst. Perveen is a sensible, courageous and somewhat headstrong young woman, who's determined to see justice done and sympathetic to the widows (and their children) who have little power now that Mr Farid is dead. We also meet her friend from Oxford, Alice, who's the daughter of a high-ranking British functionary, and who is queer. I'm hoping she turns up in the other novels in this series.

Fulfils the ‘buddy read’ rubric of the 52 books in 2024 challenge: I read in sync with N.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Confinement

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous informative relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.0

Hurmaava kirja vie aikamatkalle 1920-luvun Bombayhyn, jossa erilaiset kulttuurit kohtaavat, joskus kohtalokkainkin seurauksin.

Perveen Mistry on Bombayn ensimmäinen naispuolinen lakimies. Hän saa tehtäväkseen hoitaa perinnön jaon menehtyneen muslimimiehen kolmen eristyksessä elävän vaimon ja näiden lapsien kesken. Kimurantiksi muuttuva tapaus herättää muistoja Perveenin omasta menneisyydestä.

Kirja kuvasi kiehtovalla tavalla Intialaisia kulttuureja ja naisen asemaa 1920-luvun Intiassa. Vaikka kirjassa vilisi kulttuureihin liittyviä termejä ja sanoja, oli sen tapahtumia silti helppo seurata, ja vieraat sanat antoivat tarinalle oman mausteensa. Perveen päähenkilönä oli mielenkiintoinen ja hahmo oli uskottava kaikkine puolineen.

Kuuntelin kirjan äänikirjana, ja aluksi minua hieman häiritsi se, että kirja kertoo nuoren intialaisnaisen elämästä, mutta lukijan ääni kuulostaa liian kypsältä hahmoon nähden. Mutta totuin siihen nopeasti, ja aloin pitämään lukijan rauhallisesta tyylistä. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Blood, Colonisation, Sexual content, Death, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Infertility

bessadams's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Grief, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Murder, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Infertility, Blood, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse