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ourkindofart's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The chapters are too short, too filled with characters and jumping around in time too much for me to really get into it.
alisarae's review against another edition
#AlisaReadstheWorld: Oman
I was quite excited that this book won the Booker Int'l Prize in 2019 because it meant more exposure and opportunities for Arab women to be published. Plus, on a personal level, it helps my quest to read a book by a woman from every country/territory in the world.
In the translator's note at the beginning of the book, there is a very fair warning: the narrative structure is "innovative." Quite honestly, I prefer conventional narrative structures. I've come across a lot of inventive and creative structures in my read-the-world quest, and I haven't liked any of them. But part of the personal challenge is to gain exposure to narrative styles of the global south.
Celestial Bodies is made up of vignettes from a huge cast of loosely-related characters, jumping from first-person to 3rd-omniscient, skipping back and forth from different periods in their lives. For a book that clocks in at a mere 250 pages, it is immensely difficult to follow. I started thinking of each chapter written as an independent short story, and the book became more palatable to me after I stopped trying to keep track of the characters and their relationships to all the others. Because of Oman's rapid ascension into the ranks of wealthy nations, keeping track of where the characters are in history hardly matters—both Bedouin lifestyles and college educated Porsche drivers are in living memory, and not enough time has passed for traditional patriarchal ways to have changed.
Overall, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book. I've spent a bit of time in Oman but never really got to know any Omanis. As with all Khaliji nations, the culture is rich, ancient, and diverse.
I was quite excited that this book won the Booker Int'l Prize in 2019 because it meant more exposure and opportunities for Arab women to be published. Plus, on a personal level, it helps my quest to read a book by a woman from every country/territory in the world.
In the translator's note at the beginning of the book, there is a very fair warning: the narrative structure is "innovative." Quite honestly, I prefer conventional narrative structures. I've come across a lot of inventive and creative structures in my read-the-world quest, and I haven't liked any of them. But part of the personal challenge is to gain exposure to narrative styles of the global south.
Celestial Bodies is made up of vignettes from a huge cast of loosely-related characters, jumping from first-person to 3rd-omniscient, skipping back and forth from different periods in their lives. For a book that clocks in at a mere 250 pages, it is immensely difficult to follow. I started thinking of each chapter written as an independent short story, and the book became more palatable to me after I stopped trying to keep track of the characters and their relationships to all the others. Because of Oman's rapid ascension into the ranks of wealthy nations, keeping track of where the characters are in history hardly matters—both Bedouin lifestyles and college educated Porsche drivers are in living memory, and not enough time has passed for traditional patriarchal ways to have changed.
Overall, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book. I've spent a bit of time in Oman but never really got to know any Omanis. As with all Khaliji nations, the culture is rich, ancient, and diverse.
bowden's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
ekp10's review against another edition
4.0
It's a bit hard to get into the book at the beginning, but it's written beautifully and it flows easily, which makes it easy to continue. The timeline could be jarring because it jumps around a lot, but once you get used to it, this could be a rewarding read, which really surprised me toward the end.
The book discusses many things, but mainly what it means to be a woman in a relationship. Relationship with your husband, with your family, with your friends, with your culture, and most importantly with yourself. It talks honestly about motherhood and culture.
*Spoiler Below*
Throughout the book, there are many different kinds of relationships. The best examples are from the three sisters.
The first, Mayya, married without a choice, we didn't even find out who she loved.
The second, Azzan, married with some consideration. She fits into the idea of her husband, which excludes her from his world but let her grow to bring more social points. Azzan forged her own way and create her own world, which ended up co-exist with her husband's.
The third, Khawla, married for love. Blinded herself of the shortcomings in the name of "love" that she barely understands.
All three found their ways to be okay with herself. They found a way to cope, that works for them. They shed who they were before, some raised higher, and some plateaus. They found a way to claim themselves and fight for what's theirs.
It's interesting to see the different generations grow as culture also changes. A big chunk of the book is also an appreciation of Zarifa, the narrator's slave, but also the woman that raised him. He saw Zarifa as a mother figure, not as a slave. This brings up the question of ownership, and it's hard to decipher the black-white of the world. Zarifa stayed long after slavery is abolished because of love, but nevertheless the narrator's father still saw her as a slave although he loved her too. This outdated idea of possession does not belong anymore to the current world.
Another thing that strikes home for me is this exploration of what others and cultures have in mind for you, and how do we handle it when it doesn't match with reality. The pressure and the urge to please other people can be too much, and it's up to us to forge a way for ourselves and find a way to handle it. This idea of someone can also be imposed on someone we love. Many people only fall in love with the idea of someone, and they couldn't accept it when reality shows that the person is different from the idea.
The book discusses many things, but mainly what it means to be a woman in a relationship. Relationship with your husband, with your family, with your friends, with your culture, and most importantly with yourself. It talks honestly about motherhood and culture.
*Spoiler Below*
Throughout the book, there are many different kinds of relationships. The best examples are from the three sisters.
The first, Mayya, married without a choice, we didn't even find out who she loved.
The second, Azzan, married with some consideration. She fits into the idea of her husband, which excludes her from his world but let her grow to bring more social points. Azzan forged her own way and create her own world, which ended up co-exist with her husband's.
The third, Khawla, married for love. Blinded herself of the shortcomings in the name of "love" that she barely understands.
All three found their ways to be okay with herself. They found a way to cope, that works for them. They shed who they were before, some raised higher, and some plateaus. They found a way to claim themselves and fight for what's theirs.
It's interesting to see the different generations grow as culture also changes. A big chunk of the book is also an appreciation of Zarifa, the narrator's slave, but also the woman that raised him. He saw Zarifa as a mother figure, not as a slave. This brings up the question of ownership, and it's hard to decipher the black-white of the world. Zarifa stayed long after slavery is abolished because of love, but nevertheless the narrator's father still saw her as a slave although he loved her too. This outdated idea of possession does not belong anymore to the current world.
Another thing that strikes home for me is this exploration of what others and cultures have in mind for you, and how do we handle it when it doesn't match with reality. The pressure and the urge to please other people can be too much, and it's up to us to forge a way for ourselves and find a way to handle it. This idea of someone can also be imposed on someone we love. Many people only fall in love with the idea of someone, and they couldn't accept it when reality shows that the person is different from the idea.
poisoned_icecream's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.5
kathrine_jeppesen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
erinlcrane's review against another edition
4.0
This book helped solidify that I need to be more selective with what I read as audiobook. I’m giving this a 4 because I think if I’d read it as a book I’d have enjoyed it more. As it is, because this was a nonlinear story with many, many characters, I lost the thread multiple times. I like what I gathered from the story, but I definitely lost track of who was who and the relations between people. I think it would have been hard to track in a book as well, but it would have been easier to flip around and remind myself of the connections.
I loved that this was a story of multiple generations around a time of great change. The characters all react differently to “new” ways of living. Family dynamics in this kind of scenario are fascinating to read.
I don’t have anything much more than that to say - I enjoyed learning about everyone and seeing their stories play out. It’s the kind of story I’d love to see as a mini-series. It would be something like the Omani version of Downton Abbey.
I loved that this was a story of multiple generations around a time of great change. The characters all react differently to “new” ways of living. Family dynamics in this kind of scenario are fascinating to read.
I don’t have anything much more than that to say - I enjoyed learning about everyone and seeing their stories play out. It’s the kind of story I’d love to see as a mini-series. It would be something like the Omani version of Downton Abbey.
libswagmenter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Recommendation to the future reader: do not read this at the same.time.as another book. There are too many characters to keep straight and incouldnt do it by the end of the book. I made myself so confused.