Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Honor

This was a truly beautiful and heartbreaking story. The relationship between Indian people and religion is so incredibly complex, and that is truly shown beautifully throughout this book. It brought me back to the months I spent in the south of India many years ago, and the people I met. It’s a confronting story that is important to tell, how tradition, religion and fear can shape the lives of so many people within a community.

I recommend this book thoroughly but do encourage you to check out the content warnings if you’re a sensitive reader .

Content Warnings

laurxndxx's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Thank you to NetGalley, Thrity Umrigar and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Honour is an excruciating book to read, but only because it opens your eyes to the harsh reality other people are facing in different countries. I think this book should be taught in schools to make others aware of their privilege.

Indian American journalist Sima arrives back in India since the time her family were driven out and moved to America years before. She ends up following the story of Meena, a woman who was burnt, and her husband murdered. All because of his religion and her culture. Reporting on her story Sima becomes aware of how unfair the justice system can be, and unlocks similar memories to her childhood.It’s a heartbreaking story and is a one that will stay with me forever.

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sarah_883's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

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hkropp77's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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brewsandbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

I really liked the start of this book. I enjoyed the analysis of conservative parts of India and how Umrigar assesses gender politics and the caste system. I also thought that she did a deft job of reminding people that there are issues everywhere and this is the particular area she is writing about. I really thought Umrigar handled the politics that go on in cases like these with sympathy and understanding, while still removing herself when she writes about characters she dislikes. I believe that is due to her being a journalist, and really applaud it.

That said, I do find a little bit of holding me back, and there are two things in particular. First of all, the ending was a bit too "cinematic" for me. It pushed off the most interesting portions of the novel for the happy ending of a few characters, and I felt it almost minimized the importance of the rest. I am not saying that these characters don't deserve a happy ending or that we didn't deserve closure. Moreso I felt like the most important parts of the novel were ignored.

Second, I almost felt that the way Umrigar wrote this falls into something I often see. It is the impassive character watching and learning from the most important characters. Because honestly, the best portions of this novel came from Meena's perspective. She was wonderful, she had complex thoughts about the world she was born into, and what it meant to fall in love with someone outside her religion. I almost wanted the whole book to be majority her story, because I felt she could really do the story justice. It felt at times that seeing it through Smitha's eyes made Meena appear smaller and a bit more one-dimensional. It also fell into something that Umrigar commented on, writing for Western voyeurism. I also wish there had been more commentary from Smitha on what happens in other countries. It's stated a lot, but with what happens in this book, it would be helpful to have that context if we are looking through the eyes of a gender right's journalist. It just felt a bit too easy to always convince Smitha and Mohan of the other's perspective instead of asking us, the reader, to have complex emotions. And I really felt that if we saw more through Meena's eyes, we would have gotten that.

Content Warnings

vera_cologne's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? No

4.0

A bit slow at times and I don't really like this type of ending. But the book was great overall, great topic, very well told and I loved the differences in accents in the audiobook.

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