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A review by suebarsby
The One Who Wrote Destiny by Nikesh Shukla
4.0
I enjoyed this. It is revealing and galling and funny and sad. Essentially The One Who Wrote Destiny shows us the messes we make for each other - in the broadest terms, as a result of colonialism, of ignorance, of assimilating, and in the smallest, among our families - and how we all seem to be tied into something hectic that’s greater than any of us. It’s about family and about the many different ways we find to oppress each other, especially through race.
The parts of the book about assimilation, about racial attacks or casual comments, are thought provoking and hard hitting - this is the reality. It doesn’t offer answers, it embraces confusion and is better for it. It opens up a whole dimension to look at this country, riven by division as we are, by exploring how others have to face down constant aggression and oppression and how set we all are in not challenging this.
Where I felt the novel could have been better was in this thread around destiny - which came across as confusing and in need of clarity. It was perhaps buried beneath all the wandering thoughts of the four main narrators. But this is a minor quibble.
It’s a shouting statement that is apt for our times, and deserves to be widely read and discussed.
The parts of the book about assimilation, about racial attacks or casual comments, are thought provoking and hard hitting - this is the reality. It doesn’t offer answers, it embraces confusion and is better for it. It opens up a whole dimension to look at this country, riven by division as we are, by exploring how others have to face down constant aggression and oppression and how set we all are in not challenging this.
Where I felt the novel could have been better was in this thread around destiny - which came across as confusing and in need of clarity. It was perhaps buried beneath all the wandering thoughts of the four main narrators. But this is a minor quibble.
It’s a shouting statement that is apt for our times, and deserves to be widely read and discussed.