Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Songbirds

Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

born_reading's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

Finished reading: July 28th 2024

"Children search in our eyes to discover the world. When they see happiness or joy or love there, then they know that these things exist."

I really enjoyed The Beekeeper Of Aleppo back when I read it in 2021, and after I saw Nicki mention Songbirds I decided to add it to my 20 Books Of Summer TBR. I loved the sound of the Cyprus setting and the disappearance of the maid had me intrigued... The resulting story didn't quite hit the mark like my first experience with her work though. Songbirds is by no means a bad read and I can see why others love it, but there were a couple things that prevented me from fully enjoying it. I did love the many descriptions of the setting; it really made the island come alive and made me wish I could visit myself. The story also briefly travels to Sri Lanka in the form of Nisha's memories, which was a bonus... I also liked how the story shines a light on the issues foreigners have to deal with, and how the story of the missing maids was based on facts. BUT. The story also had a considerably slow pace and nothing much was happening to solve Nisha's disappearance for most of the book. I felt a bit disappointed that instead there was a LOT of focus on the songbird poaching including detailed descriptions of the animal cruelty involved. The scenes at the red lake with the hare were likewise a distraction and not exactly pleasant to read... Especially since it seemingly has nothing to do with the plot. I liked the dual POV, switching between Petra and Yiannis to help learn more about Nisha. Nisha's diary likewise gave some insight... But the fact that neither makes much effort to find Nisha makes you wonder if they really cared about her after all. The ending was both rushed and lackluster, and it felt more like an afterthought rather than a satisfying conclusion to Nisha's disappearance. If you want to try one of her books, I would definitely suggest picking up The Beekeeper Of Aleppo first.

Content Warnings

susien's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

I liked how she approached the topic of inequity with awareness and humility of her own position within the structure.

Content Warnings

teigancollins's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

starlight_1313's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

Content Warnings

caitlinjenk's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

Songbirds is the story of Nisha, a migrant maid in Cyprus who goes missing, told from the POV of her employer and her lover. This book was an exploration of the treatment of female domestic migrant workers who are largely ignored and invisible, some even abused and mistreated by their employers. Based on a real-life disappearance, it was truly a beautifully written story, however it’s not a book that can be enjoyed. It is cruel and sad in equal measures.

I found this read to be insightful and eye opening, however, considering the story is about the lives of the maids I found it completely lacking in feeling with no POV from the actual women affected. While we do get insights into Nisha’s life from Petra and Yiannis, by not hearing from Nisha we have no idea on her thoughts and emotions. Additionally, the story was extremely slow and only the final few chapters were enjoyable for me. I also found the level of detail around the poaching and animal cruelty to be a bit much and very difficult to stomach.

Content Warnings

ree333's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

4.75

Content Warnings

sadiaa's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The ending is realistic and heartbreaking,

it doesn't sugarcoat that the world is a cruel place. I liked the way the mystery of Nisha's disappearance was misdirected, we initially are led to believe it was one of the men in her life and we find out that it was actually a soldier. We are reminded of the atrocities that soldiers commit when overseas, a fact that is often skipped over in historical fiction.

Content Warnings