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A review by ronanmcd
The Parcel by Anosh Irani
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I did not enjoy reading this book. I hated my time reading it. You cannot describe the experience as enjoyable. It hurts. The text traps you, intentionally.
This is a world I didn't know or understand. I had to Google so many things, some of them painful: eunuchs, surgery, sex trafficking.
But I persevered because I owed it to the book, to the characters and to the real world it reflects. I started to read it to understand this world I knew nothing about.
Ultimately though it comes with little good. Each of the characters can justify their actions to themselves, but really they prolong everyone else's misery. Each act of charity throughout is a double edged sword, and is often a push in a certain direction before the recipient has decided. The charitable acts take their future from them. And even when the see a future it is pulled from under them. It's unrelenting.
That's exactly what makes it a thought provoking look at sexual slavery.
This is a world I didn't know or understand. I had to Google so many things, some of them painful: eunuchs, surgery, sex trafficking.
But I persevered because I owed it to the book, to the characters and to the real world it reflects. I started to read it to understand this world I knew nothing about.
Ultimately though it comes with little good. Each of the characters can justify their actions to themselves, but really they prolong everyone else's misery. Each act of charity throughout is a double edged sword, and is often a push in a certain direction before the recipient has decided. The charitable acts take their future from them. And even when the see a future it is pulled from under them. It's unrelenting.
That's exactly what makes it a thought provoking look at sexual slavery.