Scan barcode
A review by lizzo_reads
Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee
3.0
Mukherjee is a good writer. I enjoyed reading this book for the cultural context, and somewhat for the plot. The clash between old and new India is fascinating. However, I kept waiting to like Anjali, the main character...and I just never could. I felt empathy for her situation--especially at the beginning during her encounter with a potential husband (I won't reveal details at the risk of spoiling it). But...that was about it.
*sigh*
All of the people who believe in Anjali and keep talking about how she's special and has a "spark"...well, seriously, what are they seeing? She keeps making poor choices. Men keep saving her from herself. Whenever she thinks of herself, she thinks she's an idiot. And it's not until the last 10 pages of the book that she seems to shake any of these bad habits, but we have no explanations about the why or the how.
It's possible that I don't connect with her and her struggles, and perhaps that's ruining the reading experience for me. I like to walk away from a book feeling that I've learned something about the world, or something about myself, and I just didn't get that with Miss New India. The ending was also too neat and tidy for a story that had a girl go through the supposed trauma that Anjali did.
Giving this 3 stars because the writing is good.
*sigh*
All of the people who believe in Anjali and keep talking about how she's special and has a "spark"...well, seriously, what are they seeing? She keeps making poor choices. Men keep saving her from herself. Whenever she thinks of herself, she thinks she's an idiot. And it's not until the last 10 pages of the book that she seems to shake any of these bad habits, but we have no explanations about the why or the how.
It's possible that I don't connect with her and her struggles, and perhaps that's ruining the reading experience for me. I like to walk away from a book feeling that I've learned something about the world, or something about myself, and I just didn't get that with Miss New India. The ending was also too neat and tidy for a story that had a girl go through the supposed trauma that Anjali did.
Giving this 3 stars because the writing is good.