A review by jasminegalsreadinglog
The Direction of the Wind by Mansi Shah
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The Direction of the Wind is the story of a daughter searching for her mother. This book is set in Paris and Ahmedabad of 1998 and 2019. Alternating between the stories of Nita and Sophie we get to transverse their stories.This is the premise in nutshell. Throughout the journey we get to see other characters who are stuck in their own stories.
I liked the part where the author tries to highlight the part where the narrative talks about the mental illnesses not discussed enough. Nita's turmoil about leaving her family is written well. But that's where my liking for this novel ends.
I am probably one of those people who is going to be critical about this novel. Nita and Sophie are stuck in patriarchal society I agree but some of their actions just doesn't add up. Nita is an educated person but without doing any research moves to a different country just because she wants to pursue art and is fed up with her privileged life. Same with Sophie. An accountant goes to Paris without looking up hotels, something called as Uber and Paris of this age doesn't have Indians? I get it that patriarchal society is prevalent in India but writing these women characters as dumb doesn't make sense. And since when does having pets in India not common.
Can Indian American authors please stop projecting India as this backward country where everything is about poverty, street animals and gossiping aunties? Please look at other diverse authors who try to incorporate their culture positively too and highlight the wonderful community they have. Sadly this novel disappointed me.
CW: Child Abandonment, addiction, drug usage, Infidelity, sexual assault
I liked the part where the author tries to highlight the part where the narrative talks about the mental illnesses not discussed enough. Nita's turmoil about leaving her family is written well. But that's where my liking for this novel ends.
I am probably one of those people who is going to be critical about this novel. Nita and Sophie are stuck in patriarchal society I agree but some of their actions just doesn't add up. Nita is an educated person but without doing any research moves to a different country just because she wants to pursue art and is fed up with her privileged life. Same with Sophie. An accountant goes to Paris without looking up hotels, something called as Uber and Paris of this age doesn't have Indians? I get it that patriarchal society is prevalent in India but writing these women characters as dumb doesn't make sense. And since when does having pets in India not common.
Can Indian American authors please stop projecting India as this backward country where everything is about poverty, street animals and gossiping aunties? Please look at other diverse authors who try to incorporate their culture positively too and highlight the wonderful community they have. Sadly this novel disappointed me.
CW: Child Abandonment, addiction, drug usage, Infidelity, sexual assault
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Drug use, Death, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Addiction