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A review by lalapope
This Is Fine by Poorna Bell
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an ARC.
Caution; Mild spoilers (I’ve tried to keep it vague)
Brief review; 3 ½ star book that has the space to be 4 or more with a few modifications.
Let me begin with a positive. Most of the main cast and secondary is well written and developed. Poorna Bell knows how to say just enough about a character to give them the depth and flavour required to care about what happens to them. Of note to me was Myra. She acts her age (this is hard to do!) and her emotional regulation develops as the book progresses. A less skilled author would have struggled to turn Myra from as unlikeable as she is at the start of the story to the strong woman she grows to be over the book. Padma’s love for Myra ,despite how difficult Myra makes things at first, feels genuine and believable. I also really liked both café owners for being sweet and encouraging without being cloying.
In contrast, Wallace felt quite two dimensional for how much he factors into Padma’s life. Poorna Bell could have used spent some of the time Padma fixates on her past conflicts with her mother on their relationship. She comes across as extremely co-dependent on him until later, but we never really get to see how these residual feelings remain. The version of Wallace we see seems profoundly awful. Perhaps this was the point. Even so, Poorna Bell could have spent time showing how loving he once was to contrast the cruel man we see within these pages.
To return to the positive, I really loved to see Padma regain her confidence through cooking and getting closer to Myra through cooking too. It was fantastic to see Myra be just as encouraging to Padma as she is to her. The gradual progression of her talents being seen by the right eyes to the outcomes of the epilogue felt organic and well-paced.
In contrast, I found Hugo’s role in the story often harmed the message of self-love that I feel gives this book its heart. Padma learns to love herself and be happy alone only for this to feel detracted by Hugo’s presence. Perhaps some readers may enjoy that she finds love again. Me? The bond between Myra and Padma and their relationship is what got me to the end. Hugo had me skimming. In a similar thread, I find that the frequent reminisce of her troubled childhood is a little excessive. Whilst “the seaside story” and “when mom was gone” stories really work for the story, the rest didn’t feel that necessary.
To end on a more neutral thought, the final fifth and ending leaves me with some complex feelings. On one hand, it’s emotional and intense. Book long plot threads come to roost and closure is given to many questions. On the other, the mental episode feels too convenient. I didn’t like mental breakdowns as a plot device. It is also so much more intense than the rest of the book. I spent most of the book enjoying some reflective chatter and character growth. The last part was genuinely distressing.
So how would I improve this book? I have a few ideas.
Firstly, I would rethink Hugo as a character within the story. I see his value as a good friend to Padma outside of the cafes and family. However, their romance is undeveloped, and it leaves it feeling unnecessary. Poorna Bell should either give the romance more room to grow or focus on Myra’s and Padma’s self-love and self-growth journey. I think the latter is better.
Secondly, I think Padma could have participated in some therapy of her own. This would be a great way to repurpose the passages about her mother and the effect of her depression. This would have allowed Padma the space to grow beyond her food and her niece. As someone who is all too in touch with depression, there’s no such thing as the day it’s all fixed but I really think Padma should have ended the story being more in control of these feelings. As it stands, I left the story with a sense of dread that these unresolved issues might harm her happy ending.
Finally, I think Poorna Bell should decide what sort of book she wants this book to be.
Is a poolside read about women uplifting women despite their struggles?
Is this a book that mediates on generational trauma and mental health as demons we must tame to become better that is supposed to be deeply contemplative?
Is this a love story?
Is this about self-love necessary to grow as a person?
There are two ways Poorna Bell might be able to do this.
Poorna Bell could focus on keeping the book light and airy by reducing some of the darkness surrounding her childhood and depression to give the book a more uplifting feel. This would give it a good “read by pool” experience with less moments that might get them to shut the book as to not spoil their mood.
Alternatively, Poorna Bell has the bones for a great meditation on mental health and generational trauma and how we must push beyond this darkness to grow. She could do this by Padma having a more realistic version of her mental issues. I feel things are solved a little too neatly as it stands.
To put this more simply, Pinky Dishwalla has a comedic moment and easy solution to the conflict Padma has later on feels at home in a light and airy book. In a more serious novel, I think she would need to think of a different route to resolution.
To conclude, this is a book feels like it has as many positives as negatives. Some characters are well made, some aren’t. Some plot threads are compelling, others simply aren’t. A classic 3 ½ star book that could easily be 4 or more with some edits.
Caution; Mild spoilers (I’ve tried to keep it vague)
Brief review; 3 ½ star book that has the space to be 4 or more with a few modifications.
Let me begin with a positive. Most of the main cast and secondary is well written and developed. Poorna Bell knows how to say just enough about a character to give them the depth and flavour required to care about what happens to them. Of note to me was Myra. She acts her age (this is hard to do!) and her emotional regulation develops as the book progresses. A less skilled author would have struggled to turn Myra from as unlikeable as she is at the start of the story to the strong woman she grows to be over the book. Padma’s love for Myra ,despite how difficult Myra makes things at first, feels genuine and believable. I also really liked both café owners for being sweet and encouraging without being cloying.
In contrast, Wallace felt quite two dimensional for how much he factors into Padma’s life. Poorna Bell could have used spent some of the time Padma fixates on her past conflicts with her mother on their relationship. She comes across as extremely co-dependent on him until later, but we never really get to see how these residual feelings remain. The version of Wallace we see seems profoundly awful. Perhaps this was the point. Even so, Poorna Bell could have spent time showing how loving he once was to contrast the cruel man we see within these pages.
To return to the positive, I really loved to see Padma regain her confidence through cooking and getting closer to Myra through cooking too. It was fantastic to see Myra be just as encouraging to Padma as she is to her. The gradual progression of her talents being seen by the right eyes to the outcomes of the epilogue felt organic and well-paced.
In contrast, I found Hugo’s role in the story often harmed the message of self-love that I feel gives this book its heart. Padma learns to love herself and be happy alone only for this to feel detracted by Hugo’s presence. Perhaps some readers may enjoy that she finds love again. Me? The bond between Myra and Padma and their relationship is what got me to the end. Hugo had me skimming. In a similar thread, I find that the frequent reminisce of her troubled childhood is a little excessive. Whilst “the seaside story” and “when mom was gone” stories really work for the story, the rest didn’t feel that necessary.
To end on a more neutral thought, the final fifth and ending leaves me with some complex feelings. On one hand, it’s emotional and intense. Book long plot threads come to roost and closure is given to many questions. On the other, the mental episode feels too convenient. I didn’t like mental breakdowns as a plot device. It is also so much more intense than the rest of the book. I spent most of the book enjoying some reflective chatter and character growth. The last part was genuinely distressing.
So how would I improve this book? I have a few ideas.
Firstly, I would rethink Hugo as a character within the story. I see his value as a good friend to Padma outside of the cafes and family. However, their romance is undeveloped, and it leaves it feeling unnecessary. Poorna Bell should either give the romance more room to grow or focus on Myra’s and Padma’s self-love and self-growth journey. I think the latter is better.
Secondly, I think Padma could have participated in some therapy of her own. This would be a great way to repurpose the passages about her mother and the effect of her depression. This would have allowed Padma the space to grow beyond her food and her niece. As someone who is all too in touch with depression, there’s no such thing as the day it’s all fixed but I really think Padma should have ended the story being more in control of these feelings. As it stands, I left the story with a sense of dread that these unresolved issues might harm her happy ending.
Finally, I think Poorna Bell should decide what sort of book she wants this book to be.
Is a poolside read about women uplifting women despite their struggles?
Is this a book that mediates on generational trauma and mental health as demons we must tame to become better that is supposed to be deeply contemplative?
Is this a love story?
Is this about self-love necessary to grow as a person?
There are two ways Poorna Bell might be able to do this.
Poorna Bell could focus on keeping the book light and airy by reducing some of the darkness surrounding her childhood and depression to give the book a more uplifting feel. This would give it a good “read by pool” experience with less moments that might get them to shut the book as to not spoil their mood.
Alternatively, Poorna Bell has the bones for a great meditation on mental health and generational trauma and how we must push beyond this darkness to grow. She could do this by Padma having a more realistic version of her mental issues. I feel things are solved a little too neatly as it stands.
To put this more simply, Pinky Dishwalla has a comedic moment and easy solution to the conflict Padma has later on feels at home in a light and airy book. In a more serious novel, I think she would need to think of a different route to resolution.
To conclude, this is a book feels like it has as many positives as negatives. Some characters are well made, some aren’t. Some plot threads are compelling, others simply aren’t. A classic 3 ½ star book that could easily be 4 or more with some edits.