A review by readingwithkt
She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A wonderful collection of short stories by an author who is quickly becoming a favourite of mine. The collection consists of four stories, where we meet four different characters.

In Paravati's story, we reckon with sexuality, identity, and how that's tied to our external visuals. Topics such as bullying, harassment, white supremacy, and (internalised) homophobia are covered. I felt this one spoke closely to some of the content in I'm Afraid of Men and even this page is white, but in a powerful fictional account.

When we meet Sati, we're introduced to concepts of class and sexuality is discussed further.

Kali teaches us about self love and the impact of trauma.

And finally, Ganesha. This tale is about relationships and the small intimacies that create them. It's about relationship breakdowns and creating/finding home.

A very beautiful collection. As soon as I finished reading it (on audiobook) I wanted to click to start reading again.
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