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A review by kairosdreaming
Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee
3.0
I'd heard a lot of good things about this book. So it was somewhat a disappointment when I finally read through it. I just couldn't bring myself to like the protagonist, Anjali, Angie, and that spoiled the rest of the book for me.
It started off quite well, with Anjali being in her hometown and trying to figure out what she wanted for her life. Somewhat traditional because she wants to appease her parents and have an "ease" of life so to speak, she entertains their plans for her and a potential marriage. But the other side of her doesn't want that life, and encouraged by a past teacher, seeks more adventure and independence. The second part of the book, in which she gets that adventure was so rushed, hurried, and confusing; and Anjali becomes that unlikable protagonist to me.
For characterization, I actually thought all of the side characters were pretty well developed. I liked Mr. Champion and his significant other. I thought they were the best characters of the whole book. The rest, while not quite as well developed, still had decent background and motivations. It was Anjali I didn't understand. Her way of interacting with the world, and the decisions she made, were kind of nonsensical to me. I could see it argued that her upbringing and trauma made her act the way she did, but I just found her unauthentic as a whole.
Ok, but not really the book for me. I'd rate this as solidly average.
Review by M. Reynard 2019
It started off quite well, with Anjali being in her hometown and trying to figure out what she wanted for her life. Somewhat traditional because she wants to appease her parents and have an "ease" of life so to speak, she entertains their plans for her and a potential marriage. But the other side of her doesn't want that life, and encouraged by a past teacher, seeks more adventure and independence. The second part of the book, in which she gets that adventure was so rushed, hurried, and confusing; and Anjali becomes that unlikable protagonist to me.
For characterization, I actually thought all of the side characters were pretty well developed. I liked Mr. Champion and his significant other. I thought they were the best characters of the whole book. The rest, while not quite as well developed, still had decent background and motivations. It was Anjali I didn't understand. Her way of interacting with the world, and the decisions she made, were kind of nonsensical to me. I could see it argued that her upbringing and trauma made her act the way she did, but I just found her unauthentic as a whole.
Ok, but not really the book for me. I'd rate this as solidly average.
Review by M. Reynard 2019