Reviews with content warning for Racism - Gold Diggers

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

7 reviews

harymouck's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective 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

Sophisticated prose, well-developed characters, darkly witty, highly original concept. There's a long, slow section in the middle that almost made me give up, but I''m glad I persisted because the ending is just beautiful. Will definitely read more from this author.

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abookandaspotoftea's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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egmamaril's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

I finished this book with some mixed feelings, but I’d say it was an enjoyable read overall.

To start with some positives. I enjoyed reading from Neil’s perspective, especially because Sathian put so much attention to the things he was observing around him. It would be such small details, but it added so much to our understanding of who he was as a person. She also has a great sense of humor that she inserted into Neil’s character, and I found myself smiling a handful of times due to the way he reacted to what was happening around him. It really brought to life his character in particular, and you would get aspects of this in other characters as well, such as Anita. Tangentially, I appreciated that she found a great balance between humor and seriousness. While being funny at times, Sathian did a wonderful job approaching heavier topics with grace.

I also really enjoyed the commentary around Indian American life, particularly growing up in an immigrant community. And I loved that Sathian showed how messy it can get. Being Asian American myself, I really sympathized with the gossiping that occurred in a small community, the pressure of meeting parents’ expectations, and just the general feeling of “lostness” that comes with being the child of immigrants. There was this ongoing question that was posed throughout this book, which was what it meant to be Indian and American. It’s a tough question, and I thought Sathian did a wonderful job expressing that identity crisis Neil went through (as well as others), trying to work that out.

My main issue with the book was the handling of the story. I felt as though there were one too many moving parts that ended up making the book feel disconnected. As a result, I found myself finishing the book feeling a little unsatisfied because there were a few things that felt unresolved. It didn’t ruin the overall reading experience, but I found myself longing for more than what was given.

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