julieh46's review against another edition
challenging
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
servemethesky's review against another edition
3.0
Damn, this is such a hard book to rate. I was absolutely loving this, certain it was going to be 5 stars, until the last 17 pages.
Shah's writing is impeccable. It's sharp and incisive. As much as Ant, the narrator, professes to love funerals, you can tell something is off. We gradually learn that everyone he loves has died--his mother, he's estranged from his father, his ex-girlfriend who he once thought he would marry, and now his childhood best friend's younger cousin.
This is the kind of novel people describe as 'gritty.' It's harsh, it's hard to read, and it's hard to look away, too. There are some really beautiful lines in here that made me stop and go "oooooooh."
I've come to appreciate content warnings for books more as I've gotten older. I recently read a [a:Talia Hibbert|17088554|Talia Hibbert|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544037896p2/17088554.jpg] book where in an author's note at the start, she says something like, "This book depicts parental abandonment and OCD, I've done my best to represent them with care, please be mindful of these themes as a reader going into this book." Bam. Easy. That's all you have to do! No spoilers.
In the final 17 pages of the book, a dog is brutally, violently tortured and nearly killed. It's quite graphic and was so gruesome I could barely go on. I pushed through to find out if the dog lives. Unclear at the end, but the last paragraph was a beautiful bit of writing. Would've liked a warning about the dog torture (might have skipped the book honestly). I wonder if the book could've had the same impact without it... the beautiful ending was hard to appreciate after reading the dog torture.
Shah's writing is impeccable. It's sharp and incisive. As much as Ant, the narrator, professes to love funerals, you can tell something is off. We gradually learn that everyone he loves has died--his mother, he's estranged from his father, his ex-girlfriend who he once thought he would marry, and now his childhood best friend's younger cousin.
This is the kind of novel people describe as 'gritty.' It's harsh, it's hard to read, and it's hard to look away, too. There are some really beautiful lines in here that made me stop and go "oooooooh."
I've come to appreciate content warnings for books more as I've gotten older. I recently read a [a:Talia Hibbert|17088554|Talia Hibbert|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544037896p2/17088554.jpg] book where in an author's note at the start, she says something like, "This book depicts parental abandonment and OCD, I've done my best to represent them with care, please be mindful of these themes as a reader going into this book." Bam. Easy. That's all you have to do! No spoilers.
In the final 17 pages of the book, a dog is brutally, violently tortured and nearly killed. It's quite graphic and was so gruesome I could barely go on. I pushed through to find out if the dog lives. Unclear at the end, but the last paragraph was a beautiful bit of writing. Would've liked a warning about the dog torture (might have skipped the book honestly). I wonder if the book could've had the same impact without it... the beautiful ending was hard to appreciate after reading the dog torture.
kpdoessomereading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
adam_tries_books's review
3.0
This is very much a character driven story, focusing mainly on Ant. Ant likes funerals, which I think we can all agree is a bit unusual but maybe there’s more to it than that.
Now this book focuses a lot of grief and lose, which is why I think it didn’t click for me. I’ve been fortunate in my life that I haven’t really lost anyone that close to me, so because of this I think I found it hard to relate and understand the emotions of the characters.
What I will say is I found the writing style really interesting. There are points where the book drifts between the present and the past, which I think works perfectly to convey how Ants mind is drifting through all of his old memories that have been brought up by the death of Ray and his return home!
I think Shah does a fantastic job of depicting how grief and lose can affect people in different ways. I think this is particularly highlighted in the last part of of book, where events take quite an unexpected turn.
Overall a read that didn’t quite click with me but I can appreciate that it is well written and I can understand why people will find this a great read.
Now this book focuses a lot of grief and lose, which is why I think it didn’t click for me. I’ve been fortunate in my life that I haven’t really lost anyone that close to me, so because of this I think I found it hard to relate and understand the emotions of the characters.
What I will say is I found the writing style really interesting. There are points where the book drifts between the present and the past, which I think works perfectly to convey how Ants mind is drifting through all of his old memories that have been brought up by the death of Ray and his return home!
I think Shah does a fantastic job of depicting how grief and lose can affect people in different ways. I think this is particularly highlighted in the last part of of book, where events take quite an unexpected turn.
Overall a read that didn’t quite click with me but I can appreciate that it is well written and I can understand why people will find this a great read.
dwills's review against another edition
3.0
For such a short book I have a wide range of feelings. I ultimately liked the flow and prose (sometimes it felt a little heavy handed). The author did a good job of encapsulating the feeling of going back to a place you’ve tried to leave behind but still feel nostalgic for and the bleak drum in the middle of winter. I found all of that comforting in a way. This book had me until the ending. It didn’t click for me in any way. It makes me feel something is unresolved. Maybe that’s the point?
low_keybookish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
WhiteoutConditions made me think of Crying in H Mart or On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous….authors who don’t waste any words and mix humor with grief and loss.
I was eating up every word! First of all, this is such a good description of the clusterf* that is O’Hare airport:
“I’m back home, braving O’Hare’s crowds—the holidays are through but concourse K is still a nightmarish glut of holly jolly backwash—slowpoke vacationers and duty-free shopaholics, Bing Crosby, and on-sale candy cane pyramid displays that all hound me faster for the exits.” 😂
And like this excerpt:
“I felt nausea like a cold tongue lick me.”
Just oohhh visceral vivid language! Tariq is a poet too, so not surprising how each word is so carefully chosen.
His novel also made me think of when I lived in Illinois and how thick and endless the snow storms would get. Just like the main character trying to navigate his grief of multiple family members, then intrigue and blasé of going to funeral viewings to then thinking about his childhood friends death.
Some images will stick with me for a while because they were so funny, like drunk juggling but the food items progressively getting bigger the more his mom would drink.
There were also themes of male friendships and literal rough housing instead of being able to verbally communicate (or escalating physical violence).
I was eating up every word! First of all, this is such a good description of the clusterf* that is O’Hare airport:
“I’m back home, braving O’Hare’s crowds—the holidays are through but concourse K is still a nightmarish glut of holly jolly backwash—slowpoke vacationers and duty-free shopaholics, Bing Crosby, and on-sale candy cane pyramid displays that all hound me faster for the exits.” 😂
And like this excerpt:
“I felt nausea like a cold tongue lick me.”
Just oohhh visceral vivid language! Tariq is a poet too, so not surprising how each word is so carefully chosen.
His novel also made me think of when I lived in Illinois and how thick and endless the snow storms would get. Just like the main character trying to navigate his grief of multiple family members, then intrigue and blasé of going to funeral viewings to then thinking about his childhood friends death.
Some images will stick with me for a while because they were so funny, like drunk juggling but the food items progressively getting bigger the more his mom would drink.
There were also themes of male friendships and literal rough housing instead of being able to verbally communicate (or escalating physical violence).