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kai3cll's reviews
182 reviews
The Diving Pool by Yōko Ogawa
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
DNF. Before starting this book I was aware that the stories are disturbing and unsettling from the reviews. To certain extent I enjoy a good mind-numbing story or writing but I couldn't digest this one.
I felt I would get nightmares of the treatment the protagonist of first story executes towards Rei so I stopped.
I hope the reader who are more stronger than me can enjoy this.
I felt I would get nightmares of the treatment the protagonist of first story executes towards Rei so I stopped.
I hope the reader who are more stronger than me can enjoy this.
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
4.0
I read this one around 5 years ago so my memory of it is bleak but I still remember the theme and the disarray I felt. It's a book where you might get second hand emotions or not but that's the charm of it. Probably one of the best book of Stockholm syndrome.
The Women's Courtyard by Khadija Mastoor
1.0
Why is this book good?
There are many many reviews to tell you that. I would have been pleased to enjoy it the same but there were things that I couldn't go past and it has left me feeling angry at the book. (Review might belong)
• Feminism: The book was noted to be an important piece of literature showing women's inner life, their miseries in society (basically importance of feminism) but I would say it has outright failed at it.
The book starts by establishing how the sole achievement for women getting married leads to their demise. Then this only adds trauma to the story rather than a base of needing change.
Next, when we see Amma living her life dependant on people and cursing them, When we see Aunty constantly crying over misfortunes due to the country's freedom fight but never having enough reason to understand that enemy isn't her family but the system itself or When we see Bua's unnecessary bulling of Asrar Miyan, you don't think that their life in society would be better if these women had rights and equality. This perspective puts women in a bad light and almost feels like an encouragement that women are dumb and society is right to oppress them.
Secondly, we see more technically strong characters such as Najma Aunty, who does encourage better thinking and new changes but ends up suffering; Aliya who fights her way through misfortunes only to keep having conflicting thoughts throughout the story; and Chammi who is stubborn and often indiscipline, paves her away and wins at last, by marrying the man she wanted, completely giving in to the thought that women's achievement is finding a groom.
• Characters:
Repetitive - nobody in this book makes any progress whatsoever. Each character stays right where they had been or dies. Nobody solves anything, nobody takes wise decisions and everyone has complaints on everything which are justified by blaming something or something else. Why is every character shown so much incapable to grow in thoughts at the least? Sure, war and freedom struggle stop them from making financial progress but why does the story cage them into their story for more than 10 years?
Conflicting - The narrator is highly conflicting. She will cry to be independent and in the same scene will curse someone for not providing enough. She will feel enraged by the ongoing norms of society and wish death upon the same people she pities. Throughout the story, she hates the dreamy promises of love, only to end up choosing her dead sister's lover as a life partner in the climax and then in the right next paragraph shouting how she would never marry. A feeling of defeat to not have found a suitable match follows this scene. Pardon me but that's beyond my understanding.
• Partition: Characters are disputing over sides just as the country was but fail to show the sufferings people faced due to colonialism and politics. Instead of paints a picture that citizens and their internal conflicts (or even lack of sense) were the reason for suffering depriving the reader to sympathies for respectful freedom fighters and the general public of that time.
- These were my experience with the book. I do not claim my perspective as the accurate interpretation of the book but just a different look along with all the appreciative reviews out there.
There are many many reviews to tell you that. I would have been pleased to enjoy it the same but there were things that I couldn't go past and it has left me feeling angry at the book. (Review might belong)
• Feminism: The book was noted to be an important piece of literature showing women's inner life, their miseries in society (basically importance of feminism) but I would say it has outright failed at it.
The book starts by establishing how the sole achievement for women getting married leads to their demise. Then this only adds trauma to the story rather than a base of needing change.
Next, when we see Amma living her life dependant on people and cursing them, When we see Aunty constantly crying over misfortunes due to the country's freedom fight but never having enough reason to understand that enemy isn't her family but the system itself or When we see Bua's unnecessary bulling of Asrar Miyan, you don't think that their life in society would be better if these women had rights and equality. This perspective puts women in a bad light and almost feels like an encouragement that women are dumb and society is right to oppress them.
Secondly, we see more technically strong characters such as Najma Aunty, who does encourage better thinking and new changes but ends up suffering; Aliya who fights her way through misfortunes only to keep having conflicting thoughts throughout the story; and Chammi who is stubborn and often indiscipline, paves her away and wins at last, by marrying the man she wanted, completely giving in to the thought that women's achievement is finding a groom.
• Characters:
Repetitive - nobody in this book makes any progress whatsoever. Each character stays right where they had been or dies. Nobody solves anything, nobody takes wise decisions and everyone has complaints on everything which are justified by blaming something or something else. Why is every character shown so much incapable to grow in thoughts at the least? Sure, war and freedom struggle stop them from making financial progress but why does the story cage them into their story for more than 10 years?
Conflicting - The narrator is highly conflicting. She will cry to be independent and in the same scene will curse someone for not providing enough. She will feel enraged by the ongoing norms of society and wish death upon the same people she pities. Throughout the story, she hates the dreamy promises of love, only to end up choosing her dead sister's lover as a life partner in the climax and then in the right next paragraph shouting how she would never marry. A feeling of defeat to not have found a suitable match follows this scene. Pardon me but that's beyond my understanding.
• Partition: Characters are disputing over sides just as the country was but fail to show the sufferings people faced due to colonialism and politics. Instead of paints a picture that citizens and their internal conflicts (or even lack of sense) were the reason for suffering depriving the reader to sympathies for respectful freedom fighters and the general public of that time.
- These were my experience with the book. I do not claim my perspective as the accurate interpretation of the book but just a different look along with all the appreciative reviews out there.