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A review by boipoka
Season of the Rainbirds by Nadeem Aslam
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
It's difficult to rate this book.
On one hand, the writing is pretty good - the language beautiful and poetic without being flowery, all the characters were very real, with all the complexity of real human beings. The monsoon season was deftly utilized to build a backdrop of hope mixed with gloom (the season is like that, there's hope the scorching summer is over and everything is green again, but it's also dank and smelly and gloomy). It felt like I was transported into this village for a little while.
On the other hand, nothing is resolved here. At all. I generally enjoy "slice of life" fiction, but this was too much for me. Nothing mattered. The murder didn't matter. The long lost letters didn't matter. The political machinations didn't matter. It truly felt like I was transported to this very specific time and place for a week, and transported back just as thing were getting interesting. It's one thing if nothing happens, but a lot happens here - just nothing is ever resolved in the slightest. It was annoying.
Overall, I think my annoyance wins out over my enjoyment of the writing
On one hand, the writing is pretty good - the language beautiful and poetic without being flowery, all the characters were very real, with all the complexity of real human beings. The monsoon season was deftly utilized to build a backdrop of hope mixed with gloom (the season is like that, there's hope the scorching summer is over and everything is green again, but it's also dank and smelly and gloomy). It felt like I was transported into this village for a little while.
On the other hand, nothing is resolved here. At all. I generally enjoy "slice of life" fiction, but this was too much for me. Nothing mattered. The murder didn't matter. The long lost letters didn't matter. The political machinations didn't matter. It truly felt like I was transported to this very specific time and place for a week, and transported back just as thing were getting interesting. It's one thing if nothing happens, but a lot happens here - just nothing is ever resolved in the slightest. It was annoying.
Overall, I think my annoyance wins out over my enjoyment of the writing