A review by archiveofrasa
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews

emotional reflective 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

4.75

started this because I loved the voice, stayed because of the outstanding character work. Sneha is such an interesting and well realised character, as are all the other characters, Tig, Thom, Marina, Amit. even the more minor characters add a lot of realistic depth to what the book is trying to explore. 

I didn't realise until I was days deep into my annotating reread that the story is exactly what Sneha says it is in the beginning:

This is not a story about work or precarity. I am trying, late in the evening, to say something about love, which for many of us is not separable from the other shit.
—A1
 
when you read said story and the words and symbolism click into place, it's deeply satisfying. the book isn't trying to explore how Sneha directly navigates the capitalistic society of 2013-beyond, that aspect simply falls back as a foundation, as the unmovable constant in her life that continues to push her down. ATCBD is about Sneha as a person, her issues with intimacy, community, family, identity. the way Mathews going about exploring these facets intertwined with work life, as adult life must endure these days, was super compelling and so new. 

while Sneha was absolutely a pain in the ass, all we gathered from her before she hurts others makes me want to know how things end for her, what other choices she makes and why she makes them. I've stopped looking for likeable main characters and instead found myself gravitating towards those who do fuck up, have problematic issues as to why they fuck up, those who have to learn things the hard way, especially if those people are queer people of colour. these stories awaken a sense of realism I definitely needed and even if it has only subtly made its way into the wrinkles of my brain, it'll stay with me for a long time. 
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