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rashmijha's review
2.0
I was so, so excited to read this. Leftist work feels like a large gap in the South Asian-American canon. Popular discourse still hasn’t moved past “chai tea”/“naan bread” and mango tree diaspora poetry. I feel the prescient moral issues of our communities are deeper, such as caste, religious fundamentalism, and pursuit of profit and self-interest over collective good. I was excited for this book to criticize the war in Iraq and the profit-driven culture that has often developed in these communities.
Unfortunately, this book fell short of my hopes. Many of the characters and relationships were flat and unlikeable—primary example, Beena, the main character. I finished this book knowing nothing about her personality other than her being reactive and often mean. I’m also very confused about her relationship with Roberto. I see no reason for either of them to like each other and it feels like some type of stereotype that this random, empty relationship with a white (sorry, “Italian”) boy was thrown in.
The book could’ve also benefited from tighter editing. There were at least a couple instances of repeated sentences in the same paragraph or page, and there was a level of detail that, at many points, seemed irrelevant and grating (although at some, it was quite beautiful).
Oftentimes, the dialogue felt grating as well, and it seemed like the author was trying to over-explain things for a white American audience by including dialogue more reminiscent of Wikipedia articles than naturally flowing speech.
The plot arc had great potential. I feel this book had great ideas with poor execution.
Unfortunately, this book fell short of my hopes. Many of the characters and relationships were flat and unlikeable—primary example, Beena, the main character. I finished this book knowing nothing about her personality other than her being reactive and often mean. I’m also very confused about her relationship with Roberto. I see no reason for either of them to like each other and it feels like some type of stereotype that this random, empty relationship with a white (sorry, “Italian”) boy was thrown in.
The book could’ve also benefited from tighter editing. There were at least a couple instances of repeated sentences in the same paragraph or page, and there was a level of detail that, at many points, seemed irrelevant and grating (although at some, it was quite beautiful).
Oftentimes, the dialogue felt grating as well, and it seemed like the author was trying to over-explain things for a white American audience by including dialogue more reminiscent of Wikipedia articles than naturally flowing speech.
The plot arc had great potential. I feel this book had great ideas with poor execution.
ziraza's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A good bangladeshi american diaspora novel.
aimeereadsthebooks's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
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