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robinwalter's Reviews (1.87k)
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A delightful start to the series. I really enjoyed the way the author worked the setting and historical context into the story without massive info dumps of exposition. As someone with family ties to Bangalore (as it was then) and Bengaluru now, the setting was of great interest. The mystery was well put together, the political realities of the day were deftly handled..
I liked the way the book pulled no punches in talking about the horrors of the British colonial rule (e.g. Jallianwala Bagh) and loved that Gandhi was correctly called Mohandas, since few if any Dalits would consider him a Mahatma. Despite that, the political content was not preachy and did make a nice (in the older sense of the word) distinction between the political and the personal.
Probably the only niggle was that Kaveri's domestic situation seemed a bit implausibly bright and breezy. That made it seem a bit "cosy", but the flip side of that was that it also made it a relaxing read. I'm looking forward to the next two books in the series, and especially to see if Whitefields (where my cousins live) crops up in either one.
I liked the way the book pulled no punches in talking about the horrors of the British colonial rule (e.g. Jallianwala Bagh) and loved that Gandhi was correctly called Mohandas, since few if any Dalits would consider him a Mahatma. Despite that, the political content was not preachy and did make a nice (in the older sense of the word) distinction between the political and the personal.
Probably the only niggle was that Kaveri's domestic situation seemed a bit implausibly bright and breezy. That made it seem a bit "cosy", but the flip side of that was that it also made it a relaxing read. I'm looking forward to the next two books in the series, and especially to see if Whitefields (where my cousins live) crops up in either one.
A rare Dalton DNF for me, I just couldn't get into this one at all
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Formulaic, predictable and unremarkable but inoffensive and better than the first, in my opinion. "Soiled goods" definitely makes no sense in the contexxt given for it, but.
The violence was too graphic for my squeamish tastes.
informative
The least enojyable of th many books of this kind I've read, it walso disappointing to see the old "avocado means testicle" chestnut trotted out when it has been well-debunked
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Flashes of humour and of humanity, the most grounded parts were the credible horror stories from boarding school. Overall, not my cup of tea
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Any comment would seem gauche in the light of the author's notes at the end
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The only character I cared about was Staunton whose alleged "friend" Jack Haldean treated him abominably. Haldean came across as utterly unlikeable - shallow, with zero empathy or sympathy, no sense of awareness of what others were going through. This was especially true in his dealings with Stanton, who he bullied right from the start of the story. The near total absence of likeable characters meant that I couldn't connect with the story