A review by kdahlo
Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi

4.0

Overall, I liked this book a lot. However, it's structurally unusual and I think it demands some commitment from the reader. The book documents a descent, both psychological and through the layers of the narrator's personal history and secrets with her mother. The initial layers are interesting but more superficial. Gradually this book turns darker, weirder, and less mundane. There were times when I considered bailing out because I thought I knew where the story was going. Luckily, I realized I was wrong, but the author does not foreshadow and hint and tease you. You just have to commit, read the book, and see if you like where it ends up. To me, it felt like a very different book at the beginning compared to the end.