A review by cgreenstein
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

To me, this book felt more like one interested in the lushness of the language than in constructing a plot, fleshing out its characters, or laying out its parameters. The last few chapters were full of action, but I still don't know if this was magical realism or just a string of unreliable narrators, what motivated the present-day female main character to behave the way she does, or have any sense of who the main male character is or why he behaves the way he does. There's a lot of telling us that he loves her and telling us about fairytale tropes, but I don't see any grounds for him to love her or actions that show that love, nor do I see the tropes actually being employed. It all feels unmoored somehow, like the author wants to mention all of these symbols and show that they know all these stories, but doesn't actually hang them on to anything. It's not actually a fairytale story at all-- the story would be the same absent all of the fairytale trappings, which are just window dressing for a coming of age story defined by a toxic friendship and then a modern day storyline about a marriage that isn't given the room to feel convincing. Clearly, this one wasn't for me, as is true of most books that, like this one, value language over everything. If you read for language, this book might be your thing.
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