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A review by liteartha
Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
this was quick and sweet for the most part, and the themes of cultural identity, immigrant families, and interracial relationships were well balanced with the lighter tone of a contemporary romance
some things i liked a little less:
from a writing perspective, i found the descriptions didn't flow super well, especially in bits where it seemed like adjectives had been thrown in last minute where they weren't needed
i enjoyed getting a look at azere's nigerian culture and family, and specifically addressing some of the experiences of immigration to canada (a perspective i'd like to read more about!) but apart from a few place names and occasional mentions of something like timbits, this experience didn't feel very rooted in its setting. there also seemed to be a big focus on explaining nigerian foods, pop culture figures, etc. to the reader, i think made things feel a little clunky and could've inspired readers to do some of their own research instead of having it spoon fed to them in the story itself
the characters felt very... impersonal. who are they? even the main characters don't really seem to have ambitions and desires beyond their love lives and relationships to their families. i would have liked to get to know them more as people, instead of through the lens of their relationships to each other
the romance at the centre of the story — which btw directly involves an unplanned pregnancy something i find odd isn't in the book's description since it occurs super early on and the entire plot of the book revolves around it — was mostly endearing, but was really rushed. it was hard to believe the depth of emotion they supposedly felt for each other because it all just happened so fast and with very little apparent change in the way they interacted with each other throughout. i also wanted to shout at these characters on multiple occasions to please just fucking communicate, but i figure that's probably something of a trope in this genre so i can't fairly knock that specifically
this last one's down to total personal preference but the references to romantic movies were super frequent throughout the book, even going as far as to describe scenes and quote many of them. this might add to the experience for people who are big fans of the genre, but it was just a lot for me as someone who has seen virtually none of the mentioned films and generally doesn't like to read work that constant references other media anyway
some things i liked a little less:
from a writing perspective, i found the descriptions didn't flow super well, especially in bits where it seemed like adjectives had been thrown in last minute where they weren't needed
i enjoyed getting a look at azere's nigerian culture and family, and specifically addressing some of the experiences of immigration to canada (a perspective i'd like to read more about!) but apart from a few place names and occasional mentions of something like timbits, this experience didn't feel very rooted in its setting. there also seemed to be a big focus on explaining nigerian foods, pop culture figures, etc. to the reader, i think made things feel a little clunky and could've inspired readers to do some of their own research instead of having it spoon fed to them in the story itself
the characters felt very... impersonal. who are they? even the main characters don't really seem to have ambitions and desires beyond their love lives and relationships to their families. i would have liked to get to know them more as people, instead of through the lens of their relationships to each other
the romance at the centre of the story — which btw directly involves an
this last one's down to total personal preference but the references to romantic movies were super frequent throughout the book, even going as far as to describe scenes and quote many of them. this might add to the experience for people who are big fans of the genre, but it was just a lot for me as someone who has seen virtually none of the mentioned films and generally doesn't like to read work that constant references other media anyway
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Vomit, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Death, and Car accident