Reviews

Boat-people by Sharon Bala

breanaoverbooked_'s review against another edition

5.0

Abrupt ending. But overall good story

sboucher's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

mindfullibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

There are certain books that enter into our lives for a purpose, and this is one of those books for me. This heartbreaking look at the refugee crisis in general, and specifically that of Sri Lankan refugees being detained in Canada, was an educationally rich experience for me, and one that pushed a critical issue back into the front of my mind. Through Bala's characters, readers are presented with complex philosophical and political issues in a thought-provoking format that makes even the most knowledgable reader question his or her beliefs.

Highly recommended for the socially and politically conscious reader looking to expand their worldview.

Thanks to Doubleday Books for this review copy - all opinions are my own.

steph1225's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad 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

readingwithhippos's review against another edition

5.0

Considering the current crisis at the U.S./Mexico border, with children being separated from parents and asylum seekers being treated like criminals, this seems like a good time to learn what it’s like to be a refugee. Although Bala’s book is set Canada, not the U.S., and her characters are from Sri Lanka, not Mexico and Central America, the themes of the novel felt highly relevant to me. It doesn’t matter what language you speak or what culture you come from, the desperation that comes from leaving your home and throwing yourself on the mercy of people who may not have any is universal.

What makes The Boat People so affecting, I think, are the multiple perspectives. You really get to see the issue from all angles, from the suffering Mahindan and his family endured in Sri Lanka, to Priya’s struggle to find her place in her career, to Grace’s confused floundering as she weighs the migrants’ fates. While I was certainly not a reader without an agenda--my views on immigration and how we should treat people who come here seeking a new life are already firm--I appreciated how nuanced Bala’s treatment of her characters is.

I think my main takeaway from The Boat People is that bureaucracy is inadequate to address immigration. We like bureaucracy because it attempts to make tidy what is impossibly untidy. It turns people into paper, and paper we can crumple up and toss away. The problem is that people are not paper. Rubber-stamp decisions have real consequences. It’s easy to hate the abstract idea of an immigrant. It’s much harder to hate a person you’ve gotten to know.

More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com

karimorton33's review against another edition

4.0

This book was hard to read based on the topic, but done in an interesting way with a few different perspectives shown. I enjoyed some characters more than others. I found it a bit hard to read the physical book with how the conversation was depicted. Overall a super important read for every Canadian. (Read for Central Book Club)

metallicbranch's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a book so thoroughly in my wheelhouse-- I am constantly reading stories of immigration and migration, with my favorites being the ones that give me a sense of a place and history that I previously knew little about. This is a really stunning example of that-- a description of the experience of Tamil refugees that is harrowing and beautiful and human. I'm hard-pressed to critique it at all, but if there is a weak point, it's the kind of simplified villain of Grace Nakamura, a Canadian refugee adjudicator with few credentials other than being friendly with a xenophobic Minister. Grace is a combination "anti-terror mom" and descendent of Japanese internment camp survivors, and her unwillingness to criticize the government/see connections between her family's experience and that of the refugees whose lives she decides felt like it was laid on a little thick to me. I guess maybe she's supposed to represent a certain form of "Model Minority" ethic? But that didn't completely land for me, either. I appreciate the attempts to provide this charater with complexity-- she could have easily been written as a White woman with no countervailing motivations-- but she didn't feel completely real to me, all the same. But as might be clear, even though I wasn't convinced by this character, I understood the author's purpose for formulating her, and I respect what the character is doing for the overall narrative.

In general, an excellent book, very much worth my time and the space in my library.

meter1060's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

emilyusuallyreading's review against another edition

2.0

What I Liked
I was eager and fully prepared to love this book. I am a supporter of refugees, I want to learn their plights, and I would like to know more about the challenges and red tape they face coming into a foreign country. The Boat People is based off of a true story, which amazed me, and the main character Masinyen and his son's stories are tearfully powerful.

What I Didn't Like
However, in order to try and show the totality of the process, Bala gives a LOT more main characters. Unfortunately, her message is over-politicized and heavy-handed, from my perspective. Anyone conservative or born Canadian is bad... anyone who is an immigrant, liberal, or a refugee is good. Instead of letting this story speak for itself, Bala seems to preach politics, which will automatically turn away anyone who might be otherwise swayed by this text.

reallyintoreading's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.25