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rvbina's review against another edition
2.0
I was really excited to read this book, being a British-Bengali means I miss out on so much of my own culture than my cousins who have lived there all their life, so I was hoping that this book would give me a taste of what I would have missed out on- and maybe tell me something about the war that my grandparents and parents were a part of. I really wanted it to be Bangladesh's answer to Chimamanda's 'Half of a Yellow Sun'.
I found that there wasn’t much holding this story together- what should have given this story it’s backbone was the character relationships, Sohail – Silvi, Rehana- her children, Rehana- The Major, Maya- Sharmeen, but none of these relationships developed before the readers eyes to enable us to feel anything towards them. Silvi and Sohails relationship was a historical one, and very little information was given on the relationship, other than that Sohail was in love with and completely devoted to Silvi. Although we were allowed to see Rehana’s relationship with the Major develop, it was very much from Rehana’s point of view only, with little to no information/ input from the Major. I think the same could be said of all of the relationships in the book, they didn’t come to life, or stir any empathy from me.
I didn’t really understand a lot of the novel- was Rehana Bengali or Pakistani? She was torn as to where her thoughts lay in the argument, but her sisters were very pro-Pakistan, yet at times I found Rehana to be very dismissive of Bangladeshi and its people. Also I found that I couldn’t follow a lot of the action in the novel- I didn’t really understand what happened when Rehana went to release Sabeer from the prison, with the Chinese Tea? I would find myself re-reading a number of sections in a bid to understand what had happened, but a lot of the time, I was none the wiser. Also, there were a lot of Urdu and Bengali words/ phrases that were used in the novel, with no translation provided. Whilst I understood the Bengali, I didn’t understand the Urdu- and I can understand this would have frustrated a lot of people.
One more thing that was really, REALLY disappointing was Rehana’s secret- it may have been the biggest let down of the entire novel. Now I can understand why Rehana may think of her actions as huge, and I can understand why she wouldn’t forgive herself, especially if she’s a person who is very hard on herself and has a strong moral compass, BUT for the purpose of a novel, I don’t think that this secret (that was so well-guarded and quite highly anticipated by readers) was monumental enough. I honestly thought that the book would become so much better when we found out what her secret was, but it didn’t
One of the main reasons I wanted to read this book, was because it was set in the war between what was then, West and East Pakistan (now known as Pakistan and Bangladesh). I was disappointed to find that there was not as much historical context in it as I had hoped. I did lap up the small amount of history that it did give me, however, and I'll start to look for more books know to fill the void of knowledge.
Overall, it was an OK book, a quick read, but not great. Worth a read (and it is quite a quick to read) if you get the chance.
I found that there wasn’t much holding this story together- what should have given this story it’s backbone was the character relationships, Sohail – Silvi, Rehana- her children, Rehana- The Major, Maya- Sharmeen, but none of these relationships developed before the readers eyes to enable us to feel anything towards them. Silvi and Sohails relationship was a historical one, and very little information was given on the relationship, other than that Sohail was in love with and completely devoted to Silvi. Although we were allowed to see Rehana’s relationship with the Major develop, it was very much from Rehana’s point of view only, with little to no information/ input from the Major. I think the same could be said of all of the relationships in the book, they didn’t come to life, or stir any empathy from me.
I didn’t really understand a lot of the novel- was Rehana Bengali or Pakistani? She was torn as to where her thoughts lay in the argument, but her sisters were very pro-Pakistan, yet at times I found Rehana to be very dismissive of Bangladeshi and its people. Also I found that I couldn’t follow a lot of the action in the novel- I didn’t really understand what happened when Rehana went to release Sabeer from the prison, with the Chinese Tea? I would find myself re-reading a number of sections in a bid to understand what had happened, but a lot of the time, I was none the wiser. Also, there were a lot of Urdu and Bengali words/ phrases that were used in the novel, with no translation provided. Whilst I understood the Bengali, I didn’t understand the Urdu- and I can understand this would have frustrated a lot of people.
One more thing that was really, REALLY disappointing was Rehana’s secret- it may have been the biggest let down of the entire novel. Now I can understand why Rehana may think of her actions as huge, and I can understand why she wouldn’t forgive herself, especially if she’s a person who is very hard on herself and has a strong moral compass, BUT for the purpose of a novel, I don’t think that this secret (that was so well-guarded and quite highly anticipated by readers) was monumental enough. I honestly thought that the book would become so much better when we found out what her secret was, but it didn’t
One of the main reasons I wanted to read this book, was because it was set in the war between what was then, West and East Pakistan (now known as Pakistan and Bangladesh). I was disappointed to find that there was not as much historical context in it as I had hoped. I did lap up the small amount of history that it did give me, however, and I'll start to look for more books know to fill the void of knowledge.
Overall, it was an OK book, a quick read, but not great. Worth a read (and it is quite a quick to read) if you get the chance.
lastpaige111's review against another edition
5.0
Marvelous. I learned so much about Bangladesh while falling completely in love with Rahema and her children. Beautiful prose, so many delicately interwoven plot lines, like silk in a sari.
reikista's review against another edition
4.0
Rehana watches as her children become involved in the fight to free their country (Bangladesh) from Pakistan, and finds herself swept into the fight as well. Book 1, The good Muslim is its sequel.
Examines friendship and the distrust that circumstances create between Muslims and Hindus; guerrilla warfare and international politics- a 9 month war that ended in freedom because of India’s involvement. Find powerful images of refugees that echo what we see today in various scenarios.
Examines friendship and the distrust that circumstances create between Muslims and Hindus; guerrilla warfare and international politics- a 9 month war that ended in freedom because of India’s involvement. Find powerful images of refugees that echo what we see today in various scenarios.
tasha997's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
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
4.0
elliemelliemoo's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
babyruth510's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book. It was a story about a grieving widow and how she deals with the loss and threats to her children. I knew very little about the history of Bangladesh and it's quest for independence and found this book to be very interesting and informative.
ps2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
leona_isbookcrazy's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
sunui's review
4.0
i think this maybe suffers from a layer or 2 too many, but the few times this story narrows its focus, it's briefly transcendent