Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Honor

This book, especially the ending, was heartbreaking! I wish there had been more chapters about Meena than Smita, just because at some points it felt like Meena’s story was just a foil for Smita’s character development and that rubbed me the wrong way a little. Also, the back and forth that Smita has with herself at the end of the book was way too drawn out and by the end of it I was kind of rolling my eyes. However, overall, this was a beautiful and incredibly tragic story! Please heed content warnings.

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sesdonovan's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I actually found this to be almost unbearable for the first 2/3 of the book (sooo much backstory and interviewing… and nothing really happens), but the heartwrenching ending and the way the author brings things full circle really added some points in the final third. I also think it’s an important, eye opening read and I think I’m better off for having read it.

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alyssanewsom's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Heart wrenching, beautiful, complex story that has touched my soul in ways I can’t describe. I’m so thankful to Thrity for writing this art. It’s incredibly challenging and at some parts I had to put the book down because it was so raw and heartbreaking. I would absolutely recommend this book to others. I listened to the audiobook and it was incredible. 5/5 ⭐️ I am so so thankful for this book.

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candournat's review against another edition

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dark emotional relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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yvespiders's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

2.0

Honor is an example of how a good idea can be executed poorly. I appreciate that the novel tries to make readers aware of urgent issues around Islamophobia and misogyny in a specific cultural context. But the execution of these ideas fell flat and was at times problematic.

Despite what others have said about the "beautiful writing", I found the writing to be grating and unbearable at times. The novel was very heavy handed in hinting at a plot reveal and there was an excessive amount of over explaining, using the main character Smita's internal thoughts. I admit that this may be a matter of taste, as I prefer it when authors give me some room to interpret the text and think for myself.

The more problematic issue I had with Honor is that despite including a few paragraphs towards the end criticizing news outlets for promoting the consumption of poverty porn and trauma porn for privileged audiences in the States, I found that the novel perpetuated just that. I don't usually have an issue with graphic details, as long as it is done carefully and meaningfully; however, there is a part of the novel that described

a sexual, traumatic event involving a child

. And again, because of the writing style, it was drenched in over-explanation and heavy-handedness. I felt that the excessive details did not add anything new to what was already conveyed and it was just a terrible experience reading through that part.

I find it interesting that many of the positive reviews for this novel seem to come from readers who did not know much about the social-cultural issues mentioned in the book, and who possibly may be coming from a place of privilege. (I mean...it was endorsed by Reese Witherspoon FFS.) I would be more interested in hearing the opinions about Honor from a Muslim woman of Indian descent, particularly about the tragic events described in the text and the characterization of Smita and her parents and Meena's husband. I also felt that the novel could have delved deeper into the social-cultural issues that were mentioned and explained why these problems are still occurring in India today. This fictional take on very real issues was superficial to me.

Suffice to say, I did not enjoy this book. I'll give it credit for not being boring (I did finish it after all).

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kateypage's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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czerny's review against another edition

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4.5

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sydfay03's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

a beautiful book. the writing makes me want to look into this author’s other books because wow i loved it. the story is so powerful and the characters feel like real breathing people. definitely tough to stomach at times but you can’t turn away from it. i flew thru the last half of this book. it may be in my rereads just because i loved the story and the messages in it so much. the themes of family and shame and tradition and most of all honor, of course.

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