Reviews

Bone & Bread by Saleema Nawaz

jessrock's review

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

5.0

jandi's review against another edition

5.0

Beautiful book. "Bone and Bread" follows the story of Beena, orphaned at an early age (first her father, years later her mother), and having to take care of her anorexic sister, Sadhana, while dealing with a teenage pregnancy. There are two storylines - one starting from her childhood, and one where she is coping with the death of her sister, from a heart attack in her 30's. The story is told in first person, and we get a deep insight into Beena's conflicting love, rage and resentment, an honest depiction of the psychological distress endured by care takers of loved ones with chronic illness. I loved seeing the growth in her character, and how she starts coming to terms with her feelings, and slowly opening the doors to a new beginning. The book does stray into a few story lines that detract from the relationship between the two sisters

Spoiler

- some Quebec political events are thrown in for no good measure, and Sadhana's death is treated like a murder mystery for a bit, even though it was a heart attack

. This is a character centric story, Beena and Sadhana are fully brought to life, as perceived by Beena her self. The plot itself leaves a few loose ends, in terms of events, but in terms of character development, I thought the ending was just where it needed to be.

Looking at other reviews, it seems that this book was part of "Canada Reads" a few years ago, under the theme "Starting over". I do think that it fits the theme really well in its conclusion.

oceanwader's review

4.0

Compelling, absorbing story. The writing for the most part draws you in, and carries the reader’s attention forward. However, a few sections have been overwritten.

zhaozhuyin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

sjklass's review against another edition

3.0

A good novel about unconventional families, the bond of sisters, about love and loss and the stuff of life. Intimate and detailed. "And the work of getting closer, of loving harder, is the work of a whole life".

jasonvpurcell's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed this book, though I found it a bit overlong. Though the majority of the novel focuses on the relationship between two sisters as they navigate one sister's eating disorder, but I was also interested in the take-up of issues of immigration and citizenship in Quebec. Laura has already made a video about this book on Hello Hemlock and mine will be up soon.

nickfourtimes's review against another edition

4.0

1) "If you listen, you can almost hear the sound of my son's heart breaking."

2) "Weekend nights we stayed up to spy out the front windows at the late-night customers as they caroused in French and English and weaved in and out of line with shuffling footsteps that would have fallen somewhere between dancing and stumbling if such distinctions held sway in the midnight realm of Montreal."

3) "'This is my life, Bee,' she said. 'I'm not playing.'
'We're all playing,' I remember answering. And again she was mad. But I didn't mean play-acting, and I didn't mean she didn't love whom she loved. I just meant there was no way to tell the difference between what we were doing and what we should be doing."

vkm13's review against another edition

5.0

This is the first book I read from the Canada Reads 2016 list, because it was the one that appealed to me most when I read the synopsis. And it was a great choice, since I fell in love with the book after only a few chapters.

As a reader (and writer), Nawaz's style is right up my alley. The writing is beautiful but completely accessible too. And the voice of Beena, the narrator, is so strong. The whole cast is diverse and amazing, particularly Sadhana and Quinn. The novel is also very well paced, keeping me hooked until the very last page.

Another really interesting part of this book for me personally is the fact that a decent portion of it was set in Ottawa, which is where I live. There's just something neat about having been the places that the characters are. It also made me want to experience more of Montreal, where the bulk of the book is set.

I just adored this book and if the other Canada Reads selections are half as good, then I have an enjoyable month of reading ahead of me.

jannie_mtl's review against another edition

4.0

I stayed up really late, two nights in a row, enjoying this novel. At its core it considers how we care for others, be they our siblings, parents, children, or friends, at different life stages. In many ways a very Canadian novel, Nawaz addresses multiculturalism, English-French relations, and the desire to understand our roots. Highly recommended.

sashagrons's review against another edition

5.0

Maybe 4.75. Thought this book was brilliant and beautiful and sad - without being too sad. I just wanted to give everyone in the book a big hug. And pay for a bunch of counselling sessions for them, because everyone is pretty emotionally damaged in a very real way.