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A review by districtreads
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
5.0
This book just got me on so many levels. I’d heard so many good things about Born Confused, and I was definitely intrigued by the Indian-American main character, Dimple. Let’s take a minute to get real: I’m a first generation American, and I’ve often felt that I’m not entirely Syrian, or Albanian, or even American. I’m this hodge-podge mix of all of these things, though I strongly identify as an American. It can be a difficult thing as a teenager to try and fit in everywhere - at home I had to be the good little Muslim girl and student, while at school I tried to be a normal kid, one who didn’t bring lebne or falafel for lunch. After a while, I realized that I should just be myself, even if it made some people unhappy.
Dimple is just plain confused. Her parents want to set her up with Karsh, a suitable Indian boy, but what she really wants is a bad boy film student. When her (insufferable) friend Gwyn starts to crush on Karsh (and attempts to appropriate Dimple’s Indian culture, her family, and deludes herself into thinking she’s talented in any way – mostly I thought Dimple should just ditch the girl), Dimple begins to think that maybe he isn’t so unsuitable after all. While she’s falling for Karsh, she’s also falling for her culture…and herself. The characters are all incredibly well-drawn, including Dimple’s parents – who I loved – and her cousin Kavita. Even Gwyn, who again, I despised, was a multi-dimensional character with spirit. That said, I actually cringed at some of her quotes: “I mean, Sabina is supposedly doing Women’s Studies, right? Then how come there isn’t a single Elle or Cosmo in here?” UGH, GWYN. WHY. And she stands up at a South Asian identity conference and says something that made me want to face palm. Repeatedly.
But by the end, I was actually sobbing. I can’t remember the last time I felt so in love and moved by a book. I will be recommending this over and over again.
Cross-posted to http://off-the-book.org
http://www.off-the-book.org/2014/05/face-in-book-update-mini-review-edition.html
Dimple is just plain confused. Her parents want to set her up with Karsh, a suitable Indian boy, but what she really wants is a bad boy film student. When her (insufferable) friend Gwyn starts to crush on Karsh (and attempts to appropriate Dimple’s Indian culture, her family, and deludes herself into thinking she’s talented in any way – mostly I thought Dimple should just ditch the girl), Dimple begins to think that maybe he isn’t so unsuitable after all. While she’s falling for Karsh, she’s also falling for her culture…and herself. The characters are all incredibly well-drawn, including Dimple’s parents – who I loved – and her cousin Kavita. Even Gwyn, who again, I despised, was a multi-dimensional character with spirit. That said, I actually cringed at some of her quotes: “I mean, Sabina is supposedly doing Women’s Studies, right? Then how come there isn’t a single Elle or Cosmo in here?” UGH, GWYN. WHY. And she stands up at a South Asian identity conference and says something that made me want to face palm. Repeatedly.
But by the end, I was actually sobbing. I can’t remember the last time I felt so in love and moved by a book. I will be recommending this over and over again.
Cross-posted to http://off-the-book.org
http://www.off-the-book.org/2014/05/face-in-book-update-mini-review-edition.html