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raindrops333's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Confusing narrative, sometimes you are hearing the narrator's voice, sometimes is the character's. What its true, is how "The Partition" was painful for all in India and Pakistan, and this is but a glimpse on how it affected some in the story. I understand why it won accolades and scholastic awards, but it's definitely not for everyone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Dementia
Minor: Colonisation, Mental illness, Sexism, Racism, and Deportation
bonnie's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
mareru's review
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
lindserature's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
3.0
“The most important character in every person’s life is the thing that they lack.”
This is the story of an old woman’s journey through the depression that accompanies major loss in her life. (The summary will tell you that her recovery is thanks to a magical cane, but I found this to be a surprisingly insignificant part of the story.) She recovers in the home of her unconventional daughter and forges a friendship with a joyful person, ending the story with a journey that will shape the lives of all those around her.
I had a lot of trouble with the first section. Shree’s writing (or maybe Rockwell’s translation?) is meandering and disconnected, which makes it extremely difficult to follow; I found myself reading a paragraph and not understanding where the topic switched, or how we got there, or what exactly happened, and multiple readings did nothing to ease my confusion. But despite the same issues persisting (to a lesser extent), the second and third sections of this book are stronger. I enjoyed the characters and their journeys, and much of the writing is jarring and profound. I do think that, at least for me, the editing could have been tighter, but overall, this is a compelling story. Three stars.
zkoch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
Really had no idea what was going on in this book at all.
nainatai's review against another edition
2.0
I fail to understand how the translation even got published, let alone win an award. The story only appears in glimpses throughout the book. The book could have been one third the size it currently is if it had been edited tighter. The absence of punctuation and usage of multiple so many antonyms synonym opposite same same words in one big big sentence was oh so annoying! Pure indulgence on the writer's part. Every scene went on forever. You could skip pages and pages and maji would still not have moved from her bed her prison her balcony her Rosie. Nope, not a happy reader.
katy_bee's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I'm still getting my head around this one. It's very dense and the stream of consciousness style of writing means and obscures the meaning. It's one you have to concentrate for.
It also takes a while to get going and I find myself wishing it had got further along sooner.
However, I got into the style and flow of writing in time and it was interesting to read about the lives, relationships and histories of the characters
It also takes a while to get going and I find myself wishing it had got further along sooner.
However, I got into the style and flow of writing in time and it was interesting to read about the lives, relationships and histories of the characters
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Transphobia, Murder, Kidnapping, and War
karinlib's review
3.0
I gave this three stars because I really enjoyed the writing, the word play, and the use of language. Although, I am not a fan of Stream of Consciousness most of the time. I have run across some authors that do it really well for me: Ali Smith, and Lucy Ellmann. There were times that Shree's writing really was wonderful, at a sentence by sentence level. The problem for me was that a lot of the book I did not fully "get", and that's ok.
For me, the best part of the book was the last part, the main characters' time in Pakistan.
For me, the best part of the book was the last part, the main characters' time in Pakistan.
pinkiebear's review
3.0
meandering, compulsive, overwrought and playful are all words that are applicable to tomb of sand. at times I was completely absorbed and yet as the story went on I found the book tiresome.
tomb of sand is highly refriental to indian culture, history and literature, specifically relating to india-pakistan relations, and I admittedly lack understanding of the cultural context of the novel and likely only had a superficial reading experience, a fact that became very apparent to me whilst reading part three.
but still this book is filled with wonderful magical realism, a cane which butterflies flow out of and an assembly of crows admiring saris appearing in a tree, which I adored. and of course I loved the exploration of mother-daughter relationships through Beti and Ma, and watching their fraught relationship develop through the subversion of traditional roles.
so overall, a very mixed reading experience but one that will definitely stick with me
tomb of sand is highly refriental to indian culture, history and literature, specifically relating to india-pakistan relations, and I admittedly lack understanding of the cultural context of the novel and likely only had a superficial reading experience, a fact that became very apparent to me whilst reading part three.
but still this book is filled with wonderful magical realism, a cane which butterflies flow out of and an assembly of crows admiring saris appearing in a tree, which I adored. and of course I loved the exploration of mother-daughter relationships through Beti and Ma, and watching their fraught relationship develop through the subversion of traditional roles.
so overall, a very mixed reading experience but one that will definitely stick with me