Reviews

Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

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year23's review

challenging dark reflective sad fast-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

It would have helped to have some time/date stamps to the chapters and provide a family tree at the top. It is near impossible to know what time period each story is in until you start piecing it together - but given how many characters and stories are being told, you would need to take notes to do so. The book also shifts between first and third person narration - it's confusing but I also wonder if that's intentional on the author's part.

Despite the confusion, there is clearly a compelling story here - multiple stories, from individuals growing up, navigating life amidst the culture of Oman. It's strange to say this story is about just the three sisters - it's also about their partners, and children. In addition to exploring the struggles of women in this society, it's also sharing about the life of men in Oman, the traumas they commit as well as the challenges they face due to patriarchal/cultural expectations.

The strength of the writing and new to me perspective and learning about life in Oman may have me reading this at another time when I can really sit with it and piece it together better. I do recommend - but just with some caveats to be mindful that there will be some confusion, but even with that, worth the investment.

Content Warnings

marae216's review

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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

Content Warnings

scienceworks's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

misspalah's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is like an unassembled of jigsaw puzzle whereby the jigsaw pieces scattered around. In order for you to have a complete jigsaw puzzle, you have to examine each piece, one by one and see where it fits and belong to in the first place. If you don't have the patience for it, you will not enjoy this book. It broke my heart to see how this book that is beautifully written got 3.46 rating in goodreads. This book even won the man booker international prize. I don't usually enjoy fiction but this will be one of my favorite books this year and i will recommend the hell out of it to other readers. The book started the story with 3 sisters, Mayya, Asma & Khawla that lived their life quite distinctively. The emphasis on Oman's patriarchal society is the focus of the book . It examines the infidelity in marriage, the illiteracy portrayed by the majority of female characters, the separation of female and male based on functions and roles and intensified gender roles. This book make me want to pick up a non fiction book about Oman. Sure, the author did put some bits here and there of Oman History in relation to the characters in the story. Kudos to translator as well , some of the sentences are just exquisite. I am pretty sure some got lost in translation but since i couldn't read the original language, this will have to do. Out of these 3 sisters, i invested the most in Asma Character. She is a plain girl but she is smart. She fell in love with a guy that betrothed to her, got married to him but only to realize that her definition of love towards him is the opposite of what he felt towards her. She didn't let this be the thorn in their marriage. She adapt and improvise her love so that both can ultimately enjoy their marriage according to their space and zone they created in the first place. Her husband might be an artist but Asma is the genius behind his art. She doesn't relegated herself as his muse or his butterfly, she is the galaxy of her own orbit and the queen of her own throne. She managed to live for herself compared to her other sisters. Overall, What an amazing novel. It's quite risky to read it if you are not ready to go through each character in the book in a non linear style.

ireadtoescape_'s review

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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.

Content Warnings

khadijareads's review

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challenging emotional medium-paced

3.0

tgbuck's review

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2.0

The translation falls flat, and the storylines are difficult to follow. I was in many ways touched by this book, but because of the dry translation I finally fell off around page 200.