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amberacks12's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I’m still processing this book. And I think I will be for a long time. This book is about so many generations of people whose varying life circumstances work together to weave the tapestry that is the little village of Al Awafi in an Oman that is rapidly changing and modernizing whether it’s people want it or not.
The characters and their struggles were compelling, the complicated family lives were fascinating, and I especially loved the elements of likability and unlikability within each character, making everyone feel like real people.
This is one book that exemplifies why I love reading translated fiction, and why I need to read more of it. This book does not pander to a western audience.
The ins and out of the ways this Omani culture exists is not explained to someone who is unfamiliar. The relationships between family members, spouses, tribes and bedouins, the mentally ill, men and women, mothers and daughters, and yes, even slaves and the families they are in servitude to: all of this is not explained, and it is all different than how I as an American have come to expect, and this book just throws you into the middle of it, expecting you to understand.
I felt like a child trying to understand an adult’s conversation. But that’s also why I loved it.
Enjoyability: 4
Emotional impact: 4
Educational value: 5
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The characters and their struggles were compelling, the complicated family lives were fascinating, and I especially loved the elements of likability and unlikability within each character, making everyone feel like real people.
This is one book that exemplifies why I love reading translated fiction, and why I need to read more of it. This book does not pander to a western audience.
The ins and out of the ways this Omani culture exists is not explained to someone who is unfamiliar. The relationships between family members, spouses, tribes and bedouins, the mentally ill, men and women, mothers and daughters, and yes, even slaves and the families they are in servitude to: all of this is not explained, and it is all different than how I as an American have come to expect, and this book just throws you into the middle of it, expecting you to understand.
I felt like a child trying to understand an adult’s conversation. But that’s also why I loved it.
Enjoyability: 4
Emotional impact: 4
Educational value: 5
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Slavery and Pregnancy
Minor: Mental illness
marae216's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
I really enjoyed the narrative structure in this book. It was unique. I didn't find it difficult to follow even via audiobook. This book was also informative to me about the history and culture of Oman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Rape, and Slavery
ireadtoescape_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Struggled a bit to get through this book.
The many points of view were sometimes confusing for me. I don’t know if this was the translation but I got a bit confused sometimes.
Overall, I’m glad I read it. I honestly didn’t know much about Oman - especially the history of slavery amongst other things. It was a very interesting view into the lives of these women and the struggles in this world they lived in as it changed over time.
The many points of view were sometimes confusing for me. I don’t know if this was the translation but I got a bit confused sometimes.
Overall, I’m glad I read it. I honestly didn’t know much about Oman - especially the history of slavery amongst other things. It was a very interesting view into the lives of these women and the struggles in this world they lived in as it changed over time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Slavery
Minor: Xenophobia
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Celestial Bodies is a multi-generational family saga, looking at the intertwined households of two Omani families. It is the first book by an Omani woman to be translated into English. It found it to be a challenging book in a couple of ways. After several attempts on audio I managed to track down an ebook and tandem read which helped considerably, although the book was still a challenge. Part of it is the structure. The chapters are mostly short and frequently switch point of view. Many are in the third person, but Abdallah’s are in the first person. The large cast of characters- the family tree in the ebook helped somewhat- and the constant switching made it difficult to settle into the story. The other challenging factor was that the chapters moved back and forward in time in no discernible order. Additionally I felt the ending was open to several interpretations and I wish I had been reading with a group so I could have discussed it with other readers.
In other words this is a book that requires plenty of effort and concentration from the reader. Thankfully I felt my effort was worth it. It was a complicated family story which I always enjoy, one which highlighted the challenges faced by women, challenges which some navigated to their own advantage better than others. However, the story also emphasised the way traditional societal practices had negative impacts on men as well. I couldn’t help but feel for Abdallah, who suffered at the hands of an abusive father and whose wife did not love him the way way he loved her. While reading this novel I built up a picture of Omani society, the way it traditionally operated and the way it changed, little by little, over the twentieth century, from an insular, patriarchal slave holding society to one where western influences and practises were more pervasive. The uneasy coexistence of the old and the new was evident, as were the class divides and disparities of wealth. While I struggled to settle into the flow of the story, the big picture as it were, many of the chapters were excellent, and the novel included some compelling character studies.
In other words this is a book that requires plenty of effort and concentration from the reader. Thankfully I felt my effort was worth it. It was a complicated family story which I always enjoy, one which highlighted the challenges faced by women, challenges which some navigated to their own advantage better than others. However, the story also emphasised the way traditional societal practices had negative impacts on men as well. I couldn’t help but feel for Abdallah, who suffered at the hands of an abusive father and whose wife did not love him the way way he loved her. While reading this novel I built up a picture of Omani society, the way it traditionally operated and the way it changed, little by little, over the twentieth century, from an insular, patriarchal slave holding society to one where western influences and practises were more pervasive. The uneasy coexistence of the old and the new was evident, as were the class divides and disparities of wealth. While I struggled to settle into the flow of the story, the big picture as it were, many of the chapters were excellent, and the novel included some compelling character studies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Slavery
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
196books's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Rape
nyne's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Slavery
samisal's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is not really a complete review but I want to warn other people interested in this book that’s there’s a very upsetting and disturbing storyline involving a disabled child and eventually violence against that child that felt wholly unnecessary in this book. I enjoyed parts of the narrative but not enough to make up for the ending and don’t recommend it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Suicide
nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
2.5
So special to finally get my own copy of Celestial Bodies after much searching in bookstores and online. This is the first book translated from Arabic to win the Man Booker International Prize AND Jokha Alharthi is the first Omani woman to have a novel translated into English.
It took a few failed attempts to really get into this one, and the library repeatedly taking my e-book loan away did not help matters. Jokha Alharthi's writing is largely genealogical, examining the myriad of relationships between three interwoven families. When she gets philosophical, examining the family's place in the larger Omani society, the lingering effects of slavery, apathy, and expectations, or the bond between lovers or sisters, her writing soars with beautiful lyricism. Breathtaking, really.
It was just hard for me to follow the different lines, despite heavily relying on a family tree provided in the beginning. None of the characters felt sufficiently developed, despite multiple installments of their "perspective," with each chapter oscillating between the many characters. The book scans different timelines with little explanation, and there was no cumulative effect, meaning the stories did not seem to build into something easily deciphered. I wanted more, or maybe less? Less characters, more of a deep dive with development for each. I felt like I did not know much more about any of them than when I began, although I did connect with certain characters and their stories
It took a few failed attempts to really get into this one, and the library repeatedly taking my e-book loan away did not help matters. Jokha Alharthi's writing is largely genealogical, examining the myriad of relationships between three interwoven families. When she gets philosophical, examining the family's place in the larger Omani society, the lingering effects of slavery, apathy, and expectations, or the bond between lovers or sisters, her writing soars with beautiful lyricism. Breathtaking, really.
It was just hard for me to follow the different lines, despite heavily relying on a family tree provided in the beginning. None of the characters felt sufficiently developed, despite multiple installments of their "perspective," with each chapter oscillating between the many characters. The book scans different timelines with little explanation, and there was no cumulative effect, meaning the stories did not seem to build into something easily deciphered. I wanted more, or maybe less? Less characters, more of a deep dive with development for each. I felt like I did not know much more about any of them than when I began, although I did connect with certain characters and their stories
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
fionac326's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Slavery, and Death of parent