Reviews

Fragile Monsters by Catherine Menon

rebekka_m's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

aish_mh's review

dark informative sad fast-paced

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

3.5

jesstait16_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

rhythmvick's review

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

A slow start but captivating as you begin to work out how the time hop chapters plait together. Beautiful written, fascinating ending, the tension builds and the atmosphere suffocates. A bit like a fever dream, in that it ended and I still wasn't sure which version of story to believe.

hannah_solly17's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.25

jennylooke's review

emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

2.0

b00kh0arder's review against another edition

4.0

A beautifully written story of grandmothers and grandaughters, full of history and cultural colour,and how history and the ghosts of the past (fragile monsters) eventually rise to the surface like gas to the surface of a (banyan) swamp.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review.

launb's review against another edition

4.0

Durga has left her life in Canada to return to Malaysia, for a semester, as a Math lecturer. She arrives for the weekend to stay with her ageing and angry grandmother, Mary Aunty. Durga herself is sad and angry and thinks it is about the loss of her best friend when she was a teenager. We are aware of the tension in the relationship between Durga and her grandmother who took on the role of her mother from birth.

The novel tells us the stories of Mary Aunty's childhood and Durgar's own in parallel. As the story unravels we see how secrets, trauma, loss and betrayal have shaped both their lives.

kdominey's review against another edition

mysterious 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

rosielazar1's review against another edition

mysterious 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

4.25