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A review by desireeslibrary
The Laughter by Sonora Jha
5.0
4.5 stars rounded up
On the surface, The Laughter takes place at the University of Seattle a few months prior to the 2016 Presidential Election, and centers around Oliver Harding, a middle-aged Cisgender white male English professor, as he narrates his account of a series of events that include his obsession with his colleague, Rhumba Khan, a Pakistani hijab-wearing Muslim Law professor.
Boy do I love a book that gets under your skin and make you uncomfortable. Oliver's narration pissed me off and made me cringe and yet I couldn't put it down. Reading the pov of a middle-aged, misogynistic, islamaphobic, Trump-sympathizing, racist, narcissistic white man in academia was really difficult at times. It felt like being unable to look away from a car crash. A huge part of the reason that the story is so compelling is because of the abhorrence you feel towards Oliver.It's definitely a slow-burn and more of a character-driven novel. But, oh my god the things you find out????
Jha delivered a beautiful deconstruction of politics, race, identity, religion, diversity, terrorism, gender, etc. This was by no means an easy read, but such a compelling and important one. I loved this so much and it is definitely one of my favorites of the year.
"Even her laughter was tinged with her rage."
On the surface, The Laughter takes place at the University of Seattle a few months prior to the 2016 Presidential Election, and centers around Oliver Harding, a middle-aged Cisgender white male English professor, as he narrates his account of a series of events that include his obsession with his colleague, Rhumba Khan, a Pakistani hijab-wearing Muslim Law professor.
Boy do I love a book that gets under your skin and make you uncomfortable. Oliver's narration pissed me off and made me cringe and yet I couldn't put it down. Reading the pov of a middle-aged, misogynistic, islamaphobic, Trump-sympathizing, racist, narcissistic white man in academia was really difficult at times. It felt like being unable to look away from a car crash. A huge part of the reason that the story is so compelling is because of the abhorrence you feel towards Oliver.It's definitely a slow-burn and more of a character-driven novel. But, oh my god the things you find out????
Jha delivered a beautiful deconstruction of politics, race, identity, religion, diversity, terrorism, gender, etc. This was by no means an easy read, but such a compelling and important one. I loved this so much and it is definitely one of my favorites of the year.
"Few things can simply happen. Few moments can simply emerge, grow, and reach a resolution within the walls of a home and within the words of people gathered, present. Those far way, in their homes, on their computers, are present here, and they know it. There's no fear of missing out on a live event that you hadn't planned to document anyway. If it ends up being significant, it will find its way into pictures and videos. The only place to fear not being present is on your device. That's where you are either in or out of sight, in or out of mind."