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A review by azaadsadiq
Leila by Prayaag Akbar
3.0
I'm giving this one three stars because I'm not sure if I actually read the novel proper; Leila was originally published by Simon & Schuster in 2017, but I ended up reading an edition by Faber & Faber, and according to a Wikipedia summary they seem quite different. This sounds weird, but would explain why I felt less enamoured with what I read than most.
It has to be emphasised that the themes that the novel discusses are absolutely pertinent at present, and Akbar succeeds in linking them together, as they often are in reality. Rising nationalism is often linked to economic and environmental concerns. He also examines the nuances of Indian and wider South Asian societies with regards to caste, class, religion and other divisions well.
However, Akbar's choice to present the story in a non linear fashion makes it hard to follow. How this dystopia came to be is never clearly presented, and Akbar's sparse writing style meant that getting a detailed picture was hard. Of course, these flaws may be due to the aforementioned discrepancies in publication. Still, it meant that my particular reading experience felt haphazard a lot of the time, and at times I struggled to get through Leila.
As for the characters, I do appreciate the effort to make Shalini a realistic product of her upbringing and environment, but at times felt that she became a bit too unsympathetic. Not that it diminishes the horror she endures throughout the course of the novel.
Given my confusion as to whether or not I read the actual novel, I can't in good faith recommend it until I can clarify exactly what I read.
It has to be emphasised that the themes that the novel discusses are absolutely pertinent at present, and Akbar succeeds in linking them together, as they often are in reality. Rising nationalism is often linked to economic and environmental concerns. He also examines the nuances of Indian and wider South Asian societies with regards to caste, class, religion and other divisions well.
However, Akbar's choice to present the story in a non linear fashion makes it hard to follow. How this dystopia came to be is never clearly presented, and Akbar's sparse writing style meant that getting a detailed picture was hard. Of course, these flaws may be due to the aforementioned discrepancies in publication. Still, it meant that my particular reading experience felt haphazard a lot of the time, and at times I struggled to get through Leila.
As for the characters, I do appreciate the effort to make Shalini a realistic product of her upbringing and environment, but at times felt that she became a bit too unsympathetic. Not that it diminishes the horror she endures throughout the course of the novel.
Given my confusion as to whether or not I read the actual novel, I can't in good faith recommend it until I can clarify exactly what I read.