Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Direction of the Wind

I have complicated feelings about this book. Overall, I really enjoyed it. On the other hand, I feel Ike the author attempts to whack you over and over again with points they want you to know or to tell you how you’re supposed to feel. Which I never like in a book. And some parts of it are really uncomfortably written. The ending really belabors some points. Am I glad I read it? Yes. Will I read something else by this author? Maybe. Maybe not.

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jasminegalsreadinglog's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.5

The Direction of the Wind is the story of a daughter searching for her mother. This book is set in Paris and Ahmedabad of 1998 and 2019. Alternating between the stories of Nita and Sophie we get to transverse their stories.This is the premise in nutshell. Throughout the journey we get to see other characters who are stuck in their own stories.

I liked the part where the author tries to highlight the part where the narrative talks about the mental illnesses not discussed enough. Nita's turmoil about leaving her family is written well. But that's where my liking for this novel ends.

I am probably one of those people who is going to be critical about this novel. Nita and Sophie are stuck in patriarchal society I agree but some of their actions just doesn't add up. Nita is an educated person but without doing any research moves to a different country just because she wants to pursue art and is fed up with her privileged life. Same with Sophie. An accountant goes to Paris without looking up hotels, something called as Uber and Paris of this age doesn't have Indians? I get it that patriarchal society is prevalent in India but writing these women characters as dumb doesn't make sense. And since when does having pets in India not common.

Can Indian American authors please stop projecting India as this backward country where everything is about poverty, street animals and gossiping aunties? Please look at other diverse authors who try to incorporate their culture positively too and highlight the wonderful community they have. Sadly this novel disappointed me.

CW: Child Abandonment, addiction, drug usage, Infidelity, sexual assault

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erinmjustice's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

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jorgilusty's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

Man, I was super excited about this book at the beginning but to be honest it just fell a bit flat for me. I was able to read it on Kindle First Read for January 2023.

I appreciate the idea behind the story, such as difficult topics like mental health and addiction intermingled with a traditional Indian culture, but both of the main characters just felt unremarkable and unrelatable. I also personally felt that Sophie did not act or think like a 25 year old. I understand she never had much independence but the way she would describe things gave me the impression of a child. Also, each thought and feeling of the characters is described in so much detail and analyzed to the point that it leaves no room for the reader to draw their own conclusions. A lot is told to you rather than shown and the way things got described got to be very repetitive.

I did finish the book but I didn't really connect with the characters or the story and was rather unsatisfied at the end. It’s not a happy book but there are some good things about it.

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