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A review by casskrug
Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi
4.0
burnt sugar has been on my tbr for a LONG time - it was one of the very first books i added on goodreads. so much time has passed since it first entered my radar that when i received a copy of it for christmas last year, i kept putting it off, worrying that it wouldn’t appeal to me anymore.
however, i was so pleasantly surprised by this book‘s honesty and complexity! it is one of the most intense explorations of a fraught mother-daughter relationship that i have ever read. our narrator, antara, is observing the decline of her mother’s memory. she takes us through her and her mother’s shared history, illustrating the way that their lives are intertwined. they’ve survived so much together, bringing them close, but there is also a deep, bitter jealousy that runs through their relationship. the past complicates antara’s feelings about how her mother should be cared for in the present, whether or not she should move in with antara and her husband. this mother and daughter duo bring out the worst in each other and they don’t hold those feelings back.
the to-the-point writing style really worked for me, and i found the writing on the progression of memory loss to be harrowing and poignant. there is a sense of unreliability as antara wonders whether her mother is purposely forgetting in order to rewrite the past, ehich added an extra later of intrigue. the narrative voice was easy to get lost in, with the straightforwardness moving things along. i was keen to uncover more raw, honest recollections of this family’s past. it’s not necessarily an enjoyable read, and isn’t a happy story, but it does a great job of accomplishing its deep dive into memory and motherhood.
a lot of reviews i’ve seen have disliked the gross elements of the story. there are mentions of bodily functions and some unsavory thoughts from the narrator, but i don’t think this was any more offensive than, say, ottessa moshfegh’s writing. doshi doesn’t linger on those moments or over exaggerate them.
happy to have finally checked this one off my list, and looking forward to future novels from avni doshi!
however, i was so pleasantly surprised by this book‘s honesty and complexity! it is one of the most intense explorations of a fraught mother-daughter relationship that i have ever read. our narrator, antara, is observing the decline of her mother’s memory. she takes us through her and her mother’s shared history, illustrating the way that their lives are intertwined. they’ve survived so much together, bringing them close, but there is also a deep, bitter jealousy that runs through their relationship. the past complicates antara’s feelings about how her mother should be cared for in the present, whether or not she should move in with antara and her husband. this mother and daughter duo bring out the worst in each other and they don’t hold those feelings back.
the to-the-point writing style really worked for me, and i found the writing on the progression of memory loss to be harrowing and poignant. there is a sense of unreliability as antara wonders whether her mother is purposely forgetting in order to rewrite the past, ehich added an extra later of intrigue. the narrative voice was easy to get lost in, with the straightforwardness moving things along. i was keen to uncover more raw, honest recollections of this family’s past. it’s not necessarily an enjoyable read, and isn’t a happy story, but it does a great job of accomplishing its deep dive into memory and motherhood.
a lot of reviews i’ve seen have disliked the gross elements of the story. there are mentions of bodily functions and some unsavory thoughts from the narrator, but i don’t think this was any more offensive than, say, ottessa moshfegh’s writing. doshi doesn’t linger on those moments or over exaggerate them.
happy to have finally checked this one off my list, and looking forward to future novels from avni doshi!