caitlinjenk's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Miscarriage, Murder, and Death
sadiaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Spoiler
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.Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Child death, Classism, Animal death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Pedophilia
Minor: War
isobel_laura's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Rape, Sexual harassment, War, Animal death, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Murder, Death, Miscarriage, Child death, and Sexism
staceyinthesticks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Death
Minor: Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Grief, Kidnapping, Slavery, and Animal death
Subject of slavery is modern slaverysarah_eggleton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Racism, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and War
bethsbooketlist's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, and Murder
zzaakkiiyyaa's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Minor: Murder
holly86's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Animal death and Death
Minor: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Cancer
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Nisha, a Sri Lankan national, works as a maid and nanny for Petra, looking after the house and caring for 9 year old Aliki. When she disappears the authorities refuse to investigate so Petra and Yiannis, Petra’s tenant and Nisha’s secret boyfriend, search by themselves and soon discover that Nisha isn’t the only migrant worker who has recently disappeared.
Lefteri did a wonderful job highlighting the conditions faced by migrant domestic workers. We see the derogatory way women talk about their maids, the fact they know little to nothing about those they’ve hired to raise their children, the unnecessarily restrictive labour conditions - having a boyfriend isn’t permitted, the long hours, the heavy agency fees that must be paid back. Women are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse and the police have little interest in their welfare.
Yiannis earns some of his income from the illegal capture of migrating songbirds, which are considered a culinary delicacy. As a keen birder I appreciated the way this book drew attention to the issue. The graphic details did make for tough reading, however. The parallels between the birds and the migrant workers was clear, the former being an apt metaphor for the latter.
Over the course of the book we built up a fairly comprehensive picture of Nisha, but it is all through the eyes of others. I really appreciated the ending, where we get to hear from Nisha herself, in the form of diary entries to her beloved daughter. Hearing from her directly was a nice counter to the system which attempted to keep migrant domestic workers quiet and anonymous, to depersonalise them.
If I was to find fault it would be the dialogue which felt a little unnatural, possibly too clunky and forced in an effort to ensure the message wasn’t missed. But this is a relatively minor quibble about an otherwise excellent book.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Murder and Racism
adriennne's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief
Moderate: Racism, Gun violence, Death, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault and Murder