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stephperrino's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
2.75
I’m not sure I was smart enough to follow this book. I cannot believe it was only 320 pages. There were beautiful parts but too much in between was a bit much for me to follow.
niharikaaaaaa9's review
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I did not understand this book.
There are certain books I call "Oscar" books - books that are beautifully written but it's unclear what the reader is supposed to get from it - this was one of these books. The writing was lovely, but I picked up the book multiple nights in a row and couldn't for the life of me remember what I had read the night before.
I probably wouldn't have finished this book, but once I crossed 50%, I was going to finish it.
There are certain books I call "Oscar" books - books that are beautifully written but it's unclear what the reader is supposed to get from it - this was one of these books. The writing was lovely, but I picked up the book multiple nights in a row and couldn't for the life of me remember what I had read the night before.
I probably wouldn't have finished this book, but once I crossed 50%, I was going to finish it.
nina_wintermeyer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
sarayessirkep's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
nf_hernandez's review against another edition
emotional
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
ofmj's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
charlottesometimes's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
paperbacks_and_priyam's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
shambhavi_basnet's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sendlasagna's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CW for book, not the review: Mention of child sexual assault, mentions of domestic abuse and brief romanticisation of that abuse, description of prison torture, description of girls forced into prostitution through poverty, I'm fairly certain I've missed mentioning noticing mentions of war-national violence-Islamophobia-cultural genocide etc cause I'm too used to this when it's based in the Indian subcontinent.
The cishet world system almost made me want to quit but the very good ecological descriptions and eco-social ideas kept me going. For instance, the scene page 76 creates between white butterflies, a diabolical current and a fisherman I imagined to be old, rowed out at sea at what I imagined was night-- maddening that it just casually exists in a book and then is smoothly woven in to plot _after_ its thrilling entry with no preamble.
Page 119: “With no one else to call his own, he entered a monastery. He shaved his hair off and tried to meditate. Within a week, he ran away from the place. He enrolled himself in Rangoon University. Orphans, he realized, needed human bonds, ordinary distractions, and excuses to hang on to. Not the metaphysical emptiness propounded by a prince who had everything— kingdom, palace, parents, wife, children— only to give it all up.” 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I like how the trope of the unnamed wife is reversed for Rose Mary’s story. I also like the subtle wit with which post-Independence Indian poverty is described.
I’m reading this while I’m also thinking of planetary time and Anna Tsing and this is certainly one way to write that.
When you don’t braid your prose evenly across action, description, dialogue and interiority, it starts to become difficult to focus, because the reading rhythm is strained. About 3/5th into the book, there is too much interiority and description (for the planet as a character and metaphor) and I had to start skipping sections.
Called my grandma to hear about the hills. She instantly launched into praise for and connections with the right-wing. Called another grandma for stories of the Gangetic plains. She didn’t finish a single sentence but grandfather butted into the call, eager to tell the stories properly, and between them, they brought alive a kilometre square of old Delhi. The poetics of the moment aren’t lost on me— I was pacing in a room in Singapore, tracing everything they said on Google Maps, while my cousin and her baby son finished dinner, listening to a bed time story composed of history of every scale.
Pages 285-288 are a goddamn delight. Swarup can definitely write longly drawn and satisfying, closed circles.
The cishet world system almost made me want to quit but the very good ecological descriptions and eco-social ideas kept me going. For instance, the scene page 76 creates between white butterflies, a diabolical current and a fisherman I imagined to be old, rowed out at sea at what I imagined was night-- maddening that it just casually exists in a book and then is smoothly woven in to plot _after_ its thrilling entry with no preamble.
Page 119: “With no one else to call his own, he entered a monastery. He shaved his hair off and tried to meditate. Within a week, he ran away from the place. He enrolled himself in Rangoon University. Orphans, he realized, needed human bonds, ordinary distractions, and excuses to hang on to. Not the metaphysical emptiness propounded by a prince who had everything— kingdom, palace, parents, wife, children— only to give it all up.” 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I like how the trope of the unnamed wife is reversed for Rose Mary’s story. I also like the subtle wit with which post-Independence Indian poverty is described.
I’m reading this while I’m also thinking of planetary time and Anna Tsing and this is certainly one way to write that.
When you don’t braid your prose evenly across action, description, dialogue and interiority, it starts to become difficult to focus, because the reading rhythm is strained. About 3/5th into the book, there is too much interiority and description (for the planet as a character and metaphor) and I had to start skipping sections.
Called my grandma to hear about the hills. She instantly launched into praise for and connections with the right-wing. Called another grandma for stories of the Gangetic plains. She didn’t finish a single sentence but grandfather butted into the call, eager to tell the stories properly, and between them, they brought alive a kilometre square of old Delhi. The poetics of the moment aren’t lost on me— I was pacing in a room in Singapore, tracing everything they said on Google Maps, while my cousin and her baby son finished dinner, listening to a bed time story composed of history of every scale.
Pages 285-288 are a goddamn delight. Swarup can definitely write longly drawn and satisfying, closed circles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Police brutality
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault