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skynet666's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this story on audio. While I agree that it is an extremely heavy story, I thought it was well written and I cared about the all the haracters. One reviewer said the story was melodramatic and over the top, but for me, that was just a part of this intense story.
thekatiefu's review against another edition
4.0
This story is a very slow build, but when it finally gets interesting it is really captivating. And heartbreaking.
lalyee's review
5.0
the book was very beautifully written. I listened on audio book but I wish I was on the Kindle because there were so many lines that were so breathtaking I had to stop and take a breath.
the story begins with a message from Ranee to her daughter Sonya to come home. Ranee's husband and Sonya's father was lying in the hospital in a coma and Ranee would love for Sonya to come home.
The book walks through the lives of Ranee, Sonya, and her two sisters, Marin and Trisha and the dark secret hidden within each of the women. the secret haunts them each in different ways and in turn contaminates and ruin their lives as they try to move forward and can't.
this book was so frustrating in the sense that I was waiting and watching for a train wreck to happen but I couldn't do anything to stop it, even though all of me knows they're making the wrong decisions. however, if you take a step back you realize how deep the knife has stabbed and how painful it was to acknowledge and remove so they just leave the knife there and grow around it.
great book. had me in tears a few times (but I cry at everything). take many deep breaths because you won't be able to breathe throughout the book
the story begins with a message from Ranee to her daughter Sonya to come home. Ranee's husband and Sonya's father was lying in the hospital in a coma and Ranee would love for Sonya to come home.
The book walks through the lives of Ranee, Sonya, and her two sisters, Marin and Trisha and the dark secret hidden within each of the women. the secret haunts them each in different ways and in turn contaminates and ruin their lives as they try to move forward and can't.
this book was so frustrating in the sense that I was waiting and watching for a train wreck to happen but I couldn't do anything to stop it, even though all of me knows they're making the wrong decisions. however, if you take a step back you realize how deep the knife has stabbed and how painful it was to acknowledge and remove so they just leave the knife there and grow around it.
great book. had me in tears a few times (but I cry at everything). take many deep breaths because you won't be able to breathe throughout the book
nypeapod's review against another edition
5.0
What a powerful book!
A very well-written book of the damage that is inflicted on domestic abuse survivors. The book is told from the perspective of 3 daughters and their mother.
A very well-written book of the damage that is inflicted on domestic abuse survivors. The book is told from the perspective of 3 daughters and their mother.
bink_64's review against another edition
4.0
After reading reviews, I was hesitant to read this book but I am glad I did! You can always put down a bad book but if you don't give it a chance you will never know what you might have missed.
"Every nine seconds, a woman is assaulted or beaten in the United States" That statistic is incomprehensible to me! This is story of an American Indian family living with lifelong consequences of domestic abuse from their husband/father. When he falls into a coma the family must come together and finally deal with the lifelong abuse and effects on their entire lives. The story is told in 4 parts by each of the women who were abused and their secrets are revealed. Through their lives we can see the unfortunate lifelong effects of domestic abuse, the power that comes from finally speaking the truth to starting the healing process and the absolute need to have more of an awareness that is happening this often and reaching out to help break this cycle.
"Every nine seconds, a woman is assaulted or beaten in the United States" That statistic is incomprehensible to me! This is story of an American Indian family living with lifelong consequences of domestic abuse from their husband/father. When he falls into a coma the family must come together and finally deal with the lifelong abuse and effects on their entire lives. The story is told in 4 parts by each of the women who were abused and their secrets are revealed. Through their lives we can see the unfortunate lifelong effects of domestic abuse, the power that comes from finally speaking the truth to starting the healing process and the absolute need to have more of an awareness that is happening this often and reaching out to help break this cycle.
shakirae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
minerva1221's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape
dilchh's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly don't know what to say. Reading this book was one hell of a ride for me, one that broke me to tears. Before I delve into that, let's start this review with why I have always loved to read stories written by Indian author. When I was in junior highschool, I stumbled upon Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Sister of My Heart, and I fell in love by the complexities of the story and its characters. From just that one book, I knew that Indian authors are my cup of tea. Fast forward to my university years, and I stumbled upon Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, which is equally heartbreaking but beautiful at the same time. I know I haven't read a lot of books from Indian authors, but from what I read I know that the stories are always beautifully written, even with its own fair share of tragedies. So, stumbling upon this book, I thought, "it's high time I return to Indian authors."
As I've said, most Indian authors' books that I've read, there seems to always a some sort of family tragedy that just breaks apart all of heart when I read, it was always heartbreaking. But, this book is just awful! No! Not in a bad way, like, oh this story is just awful. It's awful in the way that even from the first chapter, I am already heartbroken. It was so sad, and painful. And yet, it was beautifully written. Even as it was writing of heartbreak, betrayal, fear, anger, and the whatnots, you can still enjoy the prose and, really, once you start reading this book, there's no way you can put it down. I mean it. I showed up late to work twice in the two days that I've spent reading this book.
What I love the most about this book is how the four main characters' lives were centralised around the father, and yet the father was not even present enough in the story. I can't be even bothered to care about him, although he was the catalyst of the whole storyline. Point is, this book is beautifully written (I don't know how many times have I said that?), the characters were so vivid that sometimes you felt like this could have been any number people that you probably saw, and the amazing thing is, it spoke of abuse without portraying that the victims of abuse are always powerless. It's nice to see characters that are surviving in ways that are unique to each of them in coping from their traumatic experience. The thing that I also noticed was that it didn't even try to rationalise the abuser's motive, it didn't try to create a reason as to why someone could turn abusive when before they were not. Sometimes, people are just abusive, no reason needed. This book focuses on the surviving aspect of being victim of abuse, and it's just amazing.
Oh my God, I seriously need to stop saying amazing, but this book is really amazing. I mean it.
As I've said, most Indian authors' books that I've read, there seems to always a some sort of family tragedy that just breaks apart all of heart when I read, it was always heartbreaking. But, this book is just awful! No! Not in a bad way, like, oh this story is just awful. It's awful in the way that even from the first chapter, I am already heartbroken. It was so sad, and painful. And yet, it was beautifully written. Even as it was writing of heartbreak, betrayal, fear, anger, and the whatnots, you can still enjoy the prose and, really, once you start reading this book, there's no way you can put it down. I mean it. I showed up late to work twice in the two days that I've spent reading this book.
What I love the most about this book is how the four main characters' lives were centralised around the father, and yet the father was not even present enough in the story. I can't be even bothered to care about him, although he was the catalyst of the whole storyline. Point is, this book is beautifully written (I don't know how many times have I said that?), the characters were so vivid that sometimes you felt like this could have been any number people that you probably saw, and the amazing thing is, it spoke of abuse without portraying that the victims of abuse are always powerless. It's nice to see characters that are surviving in ways that are unique to each of them in coping from their traumatic experience. The thing that I also noticed was that it didn't even try to rationalise the abuser's motive, it didn't try to create a reason as to why someone could turn abusive when before they were not. Sometimes, people are just abusive, no reason needed. This book focuses on the surviving aspect of being victim of abuse, and it's just amazing.
Oh my God, I seriously need to stop saying amazing, but this book is really amazing. I mean it.
tmathews0330's review against another edition
4.0
Studies the effects of trauma in a gripping story-telling format.