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rieviolet's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.5
I really appreciated the historical aspect of the novel and how the author built the setting and included elements of Indian culture into the narration.
The multiple point of views and timelines plus the different narrative styles (diary, letter, more straightforward narration etc.) made for a varied and engaging read. However, having three different POVs with all their thematical threads (along with a page-count on the shorter side) made the narration
feel somehow rushed at times, like some themes and characters needed
some more exploration.
I think the themes of racism and colonisation were the ones better depicted, because the author explored them from many different angles, giving a more complex and thorough picture.
The writing style was okay, it wasn't bad by any means but it didn't wow me. I usually underline passages/sentences that I really like but there wasn't anything that really stood out to me while reading.
There were quite a lot of family mysteries/secrets that got revealed slowly over the course of the narration. It certainly helped to keep the reader interested but I think that it became a bit too much; especially when it came to the character of Rebecca there were so many revelations, it felt a bit too melodramatic by the end.
Also, I think at times the tone was a bit too graphic, maybe unnecessarily, I don't know, it just did not feel very well inserted and blended into the narration. For example there were many dreamlike sections (at least it felt to me like there were too many, becoming a bit repetitive) that just went on and on, really piling up quite weird and disturbing details.
The ending came a bit suddenly and it was really open-ended, I have to admit I was a little disappointed by it.
The multiple point of views and timelines plus the different narrative styles (diary, letter, more straightforward narration etc.) made for a varied and engaging read. However, having three different POVs with all their thematical threads (along with a page-count on the shorter side) made the narration
feel somehow rushed at times, like some themes and characters needed
some more exploration.
I think the themes of racism and colonisation were the ones better depicted, because the author explored them from many different angles, giving a more complex and thorough picture.
The writing style was okay, it wasn't bad by any means but it didn't wow me. I usually underline passages/sentences that I really like but there wasn't anything that really stood out to me while reading.
There were quite a lot of family mysteries/secrets that got revealed slowly over the course of the narration. It certainly helped to keep the reader interested but I think that it became a bit too much; especially when it came to the character of Rebecca there were so many revelations, it felt a bit too melodramatic by the end.
Also, I think at times the tone was a bit too graphic, maybe unnecessarily, I don't know, it just did not feel very well inserted and blended into the narration. For example there were many dreamlike sections (at least it felt to me like there were too many, becoming a bit repetitive) that just went on and on, really piling up quite weird and disturbing details.
The ending came a bit suddenly and it was really open-ended, I have to admit I was a little disappointed by it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Sexism, Medical content, Racism, Colonisation, War, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Vomit, Infidelity, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Antisemitism and Fatphobia
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