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nathiddles_106's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Violence
Minor: Child death and Murder
optionalobjectives's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This collection includes the short story "Sultana's Dream" and the novel Padmarag. The first is a short utopic science fiction story, in which a young Muslim woman who lives in seclusion dreams of a country ruled by women. It's incredibly utopic - a city powered by the sun, carpeted in greenery since transportation is mostly aerial, without cars or other obvious polluters of the air and water. The utopia really focuses on three aspects, most obviously gender, as it is the seclusion of men that has led towards a safe and peaceful society. Then there's the environmental aspect, and finally the aspect of international relations as it is the triumph of women's intellect and solar power that has forced other nations to acknowledge its sovereignty. While I'm not sure that the prose and style are any more interesting than other utopias, "Sultana's Dream" does have powerful qualities considering the time and place in which it was written.
Padmarag holds up better. It tells the story of a great romance founded on respect and admiration, with a backstory that indicts colonization and sexism. It's set in then-contemporary India, mostly in Calcutta and nearby areas. Hossain walks a tightrope between her own didactic impulses and those of a standard romance. It's the ending that makes Padmarag really shine to me today, as she walks that tightrope to the end. Hossain refuses to compromise the values of her main character and winds up purposefully and overtly subverting the romantic ending in favor of something greater.
Padmarag holds up better. It tells the story of a great romance founded on respect and admiration, with a backstory that indicts colonization and sexism. It's set in then-contemporary India, mostly in Calcutta and nearby areas. Hossain walks a tightrope between her own didactic impulses and those of a standard romance. It's the ending that makes Padmarag really shine to me today, as she walks that tightrope to the end. Hossain refuses to compromise the values of her main character and winds up purposefully and overtly subverting the romantic ending in favor of something greater.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
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