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A review by lenny002
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book is an insane ride through the mind and the relationships of the protagonist. It's a story of a twenty-something Indian immigrant trying to make herself a life in the foreign land of America. The book discusses the politics of being an immigrant, a queer person, a person of color, etc trying to deal with internalized racism and homophobia, and make a space for herself in the so-called "land of the free".
I did not like the protagonist in the beginning because she was a bit of a bitch and was not very open-minded about the variety of gender and sexual queerness people experience. But she starts to learn to be a better friend and a better person and I really like the development she goes through. She's not very politically active, her main goal is the safety of herself and the ones she loves, and I think that's a very true experience amongst groups who have been colonized and continue to be marginalized. And as a young person of color with a desire to change the world, that was a very valid experience for me to learn about without shaming or patronizing the protagonist for being politically passive.
It has a very interesting ending, which I liked best about this book. It's neither happy nor sad; the ending hints that endings aren't really endings, rather the story is a continuous process of dealing with the present and the past and the uncertainty of the future. I really liked that the protagonist is one hot mess in denial of her wounds and her flaws until shit explodes in her face. She has managed to build herself a small community of friends-turned-family who help her clean up after herself.
I did not like the protagonist in the beginning because she was a bit of a bitch and was not very open-minded about the variety of gender and sexual queerness people experience. But she starts to learn to be a better friend and a better person and I really like the development she goes through. She's not very politically active, her main goal is the safety of herself and the ones she loves, and I think that's a very true experience amongst groups who have been colonized and continue to be marginalized. And as a young person of color with a desire to change the world, that was a very valid experience for me to learn about without shaming or patronizing the protagonist for being politically passive.
It has a very interesting ending, which I liked best about this book. It's neither happy nor sad; the ending hints that endings aren't really endings, rather the story is a continuous process of dealing with the present and the past and the uncertainty of the future. I really liked that the protagonist is one hot mess in denial of her wounds and her flaws until shit explodes in her face. She has managed to build herself a small community of friends-turned-family who help her clean up after herself.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism