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nu_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I want to start off by saying that this book delivered a completely different story than what I was expecting via the synopsis. Technically the synopsis was correct in what you described as a story inside the book, but I was definitely expecting more of a contemporary fantasy than contemporary.
Despite the book claiming to span across many times, it is mostly linear safe for a couple of flashbacks and flash forwards in the earlier books. To me the book was more about Kalki and him trying to reconcile with the traumatizing family/father. He was lied to from a very young age, and being told that he had to bear the burden of his parents sacrifices. In a way this coincides with a lot of themes in South Asian culture where we have this fake reverence towards beings that are godlike, but not actually caring about them as individuals. Allowing our ability to put them on a pedestal of reference and divinity to essentially not let us treat them in a respectful and humane manner.
Despite the book claiming to span across many times, it is mostly linear safe for a couple of flashbacks and flash forwards in the earlier books. To me the book was more about Kalki and him trying to reconcile with the traumatizing family/father. He was lied to from a very young age, and being told that he had to bear the burden of his parents sacrifices. In a way this coincides with a lot of themes in South Asian culture where we have this fake reverence towards beings that are godlike, but not actually caring about them as individuals. Allowing our ability to put them on a pedestal of reference and divinity to essentially not let us treat them in a respectful and humane manner.
But his horrible person of a father was of course only thinking about himself and of the fortune that he could make. The main themes of this book like religion/seduction of belief is basically told through the trauma that Kalki goes through at the hands of a narcissistic parent who will do anything for power, including but not limited to, marketing a blue baby as a god too desperate worshipers and forcing his family to play along because he prefers to manipulate people into furthering his own agenda and his own plan (one that is very flimsy upon close inspection).
It's a disturbingly beautiful book, with the writing style so simple yet loud and incisive. It's essentially Kalki retelling his story, looking back at his time at the ashram with nostalgia and bringing us into the crux of his naivity during his childhood. It really forces you to think about how badly people want to believe in something (not necessarily just religion), and even after the "illusion" falls how there will still be people choosing to believe in the lie because it brings them comfort and is better than confronting their entire worldview falling apart.
It's a heavy book, especially in the child/domestic abuse area, so I encourage anyone who's not in the best place mentally to tread lightly. But if you're able to read the book I wholeheartedly reccomend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Kidnapping and Cultural appropriation
gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
This is not the kind of book that I would usually pick up. I tend to find literary fiction underwhelming and meandering at the best of times. They tend to feel like they have no structure to me, and sadly this book is no exception. Now this doesn't mean that the book is bad by any means, it just means that this type of genre and story telling is not my cup of tea. I actually think if you enjoy literary fiction you will probably enjoy this book. I just didn't.
Though out this book I was waiting for something more engaging for me to happen. Characters came and then left so quickly that you don't have time to feel attached to them. This makes it hard later in the book to even care about the characters because they won't be relevant in two chapters time (an exaggeration of time but they did come and go quickly). I found that I had no real connection to the story as Kalki was not a very interesting character despite his circumstance.
So for this book I thought it was interesting at times, hence the 3 stars and that fact that I didn't DNF it, though by the end it does leave for more to be desired as the ending felt very unsatisfying to me.
Though out this book I was waiting for something more engaging for me to happen. Characters came and then left so quickly that you don't have time to feel attached to them. This makes it hard later in the book to even care about the characters because they won't be relevant in two chapters time (an exaggeration of time but they did come and go quickly). I found that I had no real connection to the story as Kalki was not a very interesting character despite his circumstance.
So for this book I thought it was interesting at times, hence the 3 stars and that fact that I didn't DNF it, though by the end it does leave for more to be desired as the ending felt very unsatisfying to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death and Transphobia
spinesinaline's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thanks to Legend Press for an e-ARC! Find my full review at spinesinaline.wordpress.com
This was very, very good and I loved how the story just so slightly shifted and revealed where we were headed as we got further in. Even the subtle aspects of the book, like what each section title ultimately represents, are so important to the story and our ultimate understanding of it and I loved these little nods that we discover throughout! So many of my thoughts are related to the latter half of the book so I’ll refrain from sharing too much to avoid spoilers but if anyone’s read it and wants to chat, let me know!
I was definitely not prepared for the twist, though of course we have hints of ‘what the heck is going on’, but the power of this writing comes not only from the author’s surprise in this twist but the implications of what these new discoveries will mean for Kalki’s sense of the world. Ultimately the book moves from a curious and fantastical story of a child god, to exploring more worldly concepts with Kalki as our eyes and ears.
The book is told almost primarily chronologically but there are a few moments within chapters where we’re suddenly in the present day with Kalki as he reflects back on his story. While I do like having this additional context of his current knowledge and hints of where he ends up, the present day moments were so infrequently mixed in, and usually within a flashback chapter, that it felt an odd change of the flow of the story.
The ending is where I have more issues, which of course I’ll keep vague to avoid spoilers. I was prepared to leave the book with many unanswered questions, which felt very realistic in how people’s lives progress, but the ending then hints that there are even more hideous secrets being kept. Except that after all these hints, we just get more of the same so the scene felt rather pointless, and then the book ended very abruptly.
This is still a book I’ll be thinking about long after I’ve put it down but I wish it could’ve embraced being open-ended more. I also really appreciated that the author ends with a land acknowledgment and includes many recommendations on Indigenous authors to check out.
This was very, very good and I loved how the story just so slightly shifted and revealed where we were headed as we got further in. Even the subtle aspects of the book, like what each section title ultimately represents, are so important to the story and our ultimate understanding of it and I loved these little nods that we discover throughout! So many of my thoughts are related to the latter half of the book so I’ll refrain from sharing too much to avoid spoilers but if anyone’s read it and wants to chat, let me know!
I was definitely not prepared for the twist, though of course we have hints of ‘what the heck is going on’, but the power of this writing comes not only from the author’s surprise in this twist but the implications of what these new discoveries will mean for Kalki’s sense of the world. Ultimately the book moves from a curious and fantastical story of a child god, to exploring more worldly concepts with Kalki as our eyes and ears.
The book is told almost primarily chronologically but there are a few moments within chapters where we’re suddenly in the present day with Kalki as he reflects back on his story. While I do like having this additional context of his current knowledge and hints of where he ends up, the present day moments were so infrequently mixed in, and usually within a flashback chapter, that it felt an odd change of the flow of the story.
The ending is where I have more issues, which of course I’ll keep vague to avoid spoilers. I was prepared to leave the book with many unanswered questions, which felt very realistic in how people’s lives progress, but the ending then hints that there are even more hideous secrets being kept. Except that after all these hints, we just get more of the same so the scene felt rather pointless, and then the book ended very abruptly.
This is still a book I’ll be thinking about long after I’ve put it down but I wish it could’ve embraced being open-ended more. I also really appreciated that the author ends with a land acknowledgment and includes many recommendations on Indigenous authors to check out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Car accident, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment