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ellemnope 's review for:
Dava Shastri's Last Day
by Kirthana Ramisetti
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars.
This was an absolutely pleasant surprise. A well-written contemporary debut that nearly knocked my socks off. The writing is beautiful and has a lovely flow in a way somewhat reminiscent of Taylor Jenkins Reid. The characters were well-crafted with good thought to histories and individual personalities. The result was a balanced family that felt realistic and true to ages, genders, and birth orders.
Dava is a protagonist who becomes increasingly unlikable as the plot progresses and truths are revealed. This was an interesting approach and will likely divide readers. I don't necessarily need to like my protagonist to like the story as a whole, but some will be turned off by Dava's worldview and her tendency toward egocentricity.
The story itself is poignant and thoughtful. There is a lot of consideration of death and legacy, of what should be left behind when someone dies. The book also addresses (in a sideways glance) how life should be lived and what things are really important to being a "good person". Dava herself has a complex character, but there is a lot of selfishness to her that she thought was altruism. Perspective is important. Though she was doing things to benefit the less fortunate, she did so at the expense of healthy relationships with her family. Her legacy will be one thing to the public and quite another to her children. This made for a good thought piece.
The narrative is a bit languid and the pacing could cause problems for some readers. It reads a bit like a mix of contemporary and literary fiction, so there is a lot of slow introspection that could create a bit of a slog for those focused on plot rather than character development. For me, however, I found that this was meticulously crafted and I really enjoyed learning the bits of history and the tangled webs of interaction and destruction Dava had left behind her. She "had it all", but really she was just like everyone else deep down...making mistakes and poor choices, struggling to do things the right way.
I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. I felt like there was a lot of emotional content that caused me to evaluate my own life and the importance of staying focused on the most important things throughout your life...and the understanding that those "important things" may not be the same for each person. An incredibly thought-provoking narrative that will stick with me and a very impressive debut novel.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
This was an absolutely pleasant surprise. A well-written contemporary debut that nearly knocked my socks off. The writing is beautiful and has a lovely flow in a way somewhat reminiscent of Taylor Jenkins Reid. The characters were well-crafted with good thought to histories and individual personalities. The result was a balanced family that felt realistic and true to ages, genders, and birth orders.
Dava is a protagonist who becomes increasingly unlikable as the plot progresses and truths are revealed. This was an interesting approach and will likely divide readers. I don't necessarily need to like my protagonist to like the story as a whole, but some will be turned off by Dava's worldview and her tendency toward egocentricity.
The story itself is poignant and thoughtful. There is a lot of consideration of death and legacy, of what should be left behind when someone dies. The book also addresses (in a sideways glance) how life should be lived and what things are really important to being a "good person". Dava herself has a complex character, but there is a lot of selfishness to her that she thought was altruism. Perspective is important. Though she was doing things to benefit the less fortunate, she did so at the expense of healthy relationships with her family. Her legacy will be one thing to the public and quite another to her children. This made for a good thought piece.
The narrative is a bit languid and the pacing could cause problems for some readers. It reads a bit like a mix of contemporary and literary fiction, so there is a lot of slow introspection that could create a bit of a slog for those focused on plot rather than character development. For me, however, I found that this was meticulously crafted and I really enjoyed learning the bits of history and the tangled webs of interaction and destruction Dava had left behind her. She "had it all", but really she was just like everyone else deep down...making mistakes and poor choices, struggling to do things the right way.
I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. I felt like there was a lot of emotional content that caused me to evaluate my own life and the importance of staying focused on the most important things throughout your life...and the understanding that those "important things" may not be the same for each person. An incredibly thought-provoking narrative that will stick with me and a very impressive debut novel.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *