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A review by pawswithabook
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
1929 in rural Punjab, Mehar finds herself one of three brides of one of three brothers. Whilst she lives in a room, The China Room, with the other brides, her only contact with her husband is under the cover of darkness to hide his identity, but she believes she has discovered which of the brothers is hers. Separate, but strongly connected, in 1999 a young man travels from England to his ancestral home, to escape his troubles.
I’ve not read a book with a plot remotely like this one, and I was so much more invested in this book because of its originality…I didn’t know where it was going.
The storytelling is beautiful, particularly the earlier period, which is hugely character driven and powerfully emotive.
Based on the older period alone, this book would’ve been a 5…and whilst there was less of the recent period, I did struggle a little with these sections, which were jumped into with little warning, and fairly inconsistently (often when the original story is in flow, which probably put a barrier up to me fully engaging with it).
However, this was minor and me being picky…I found myself thinking about this book after reading it, and have already recommended it to a few people who I know would love it.
I’ve not read a book with a plot remotely like this one, and I was so much more invested in this book because of its originality…I didn’t know where it was going.
The storytelling is beautiful, particularly the earlier period, which is hugely character driven and powerfully emotive.
Based on the older period alone, this book would’ve been a 5…and whilst there was less of the recent period, I did struggle a little with these sections, which were jumped into with little warning, and fairly inconsistently (often when the original story is in flow, which probably put a barrier up to me fully engaging with it).
However, this was minor and me being picky…I found myself thinking about this book after reading it, and have already recommended it to a few people who I know would love it.