Reviews

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

gruberslp's review

3.0

Too predictable 

nikbookdragon's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

eeamiller's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is another one that I know made its way here from the library in hard copy and I took it back. I enjoyed the audio very much, especially because there are many names and words in other languages I never would have been able to pronounce in my head! I enjoyed the strong female character drive plot. I kind of wanted a romantic storyline to be tied up at the end but we can't always get what we want. I could tell about halfway through where the story was going and usually that annoys me, but I was content to root Lakshmi on to her destiny.

cwitt4087's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

3.25

amsosa's review

slow-paced

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

4.0

soccer8s's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.0

This took me a little bit to get into,  but I enjoyed it.  Kind of a fun twist,  but after that I wanted there to be more. 

mikaingram's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

joopa09's review

emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Miscarriage, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Sexism, Infidelity, and Bullying

sydapel's review against another edition

hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.0

I went into this with slightly different expectations than what the book actually is, which is entirely on me for taking a TikTok recommendation and not reading a blurb. I did enjoy the lovely and obviously deeply researched depictions of class dynamics, social norms and living conditions in Jaipur post-colonialism. However, I found the characters and plot to be a bit predictable and weak. I felt like I could guess every plot point coming about 10 pages sooner than it was revealed on page (or over the audio, in my case), and it drove me a bit crazy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Classism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

hanzy's review

5.0

The Henna Artist takes you back to a post-colonised India, fresh from the gashes left by the British to the youthful vigour of a newly independent country.
Through the protagonist, Lakshmi Shastri, we see the life of a woman who has achieved her independency after years of hard work, coming to a point where the brutality of her past doesn’t haunt her as much anymore.

A beautifully portrayed character who shows strength and power, while establishing familial love despite the hardships and hurdles faced.

A character with whom empathising was as easy as it could get, getting so absorbed that we perceive everything as was perceived through the character’s eyes

A wonderful read, a definite recommendation from me.