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A review by _readwithash
A Thousand Times Before by Asha Thanki
5.0
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me this copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a masterpiece, especially for a debut.
This is a story about a gift, passed down from generation to generation through the women in the family. The physical representation of this gift is a tapestry, and once you're sewn into it, you can access the memories of all the women who have come before you. In addition to that, when you come into your full power, through the power of art, you can create scenes that haven't happened yet, but once you create them, they will.
That alone was enough to capture my heart, The way this story is told through flashbacks, but not flashbacks told as stories, flashbacks experienced by the narrator, was so unique, and enrapturing. Thanki weaves a story with precision and beauty, capturing every emotion: pain, wonder, love, hope, loneliness, guilt, empowerment. It's all there within her pages.
Additionally, this book explores the partition of India, a topic I realized I was woefully uneducated about, under a lens that holds space for both care and nuance. Thanki puts her characters into situations that are painful and specific, and yet their plights are relatable to anyone existing in our present day.
My biggest critique of this novel is only that there were some parts that were beautifully written, but didn't quite match the rest of the novel, but that is only because I went searching for something, as I thought, "surely there must be something that makes this book less than perfect."
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for fiction that centers women. You'll love it.
This book is a masterpiece, especially for a debut.
This is a story about a gift, passed down from generation to generation through the women in the family. The physical representation of this gift is a tapestry, and once you're sewn into it, you can access the memories of all the women who have come before you. In addition to that, when you come into your full power, through the power of art, you can create scenes that haven't happened yet, but once you create them, they will.
That alone was enough to capture my heart, The way this story is told through flashbacks, but not flashbacks told as stories, flashbacks experienced by the narrator, was so unique, and enrapturing. Thanki weaves a story with precision and beauty, capturing every emotion: pain, wonder, love, hope, loneliness, guilt, empowerment. It's all there within her pages.
Additionally, this book explores the partition of India, a topic I realized I was woefully uneducated about, under a lens that holds space for both care and nuance. Thanki puts her characters into situations that are painful and specific, and yet their plights are relatable to anyone existing in our present day.
My biggest critique of this novel is only that there were some parts that were beautifully written, but didn't quite match the rest of the novel, but that is only because I went searching for something, as I thought, "surely there must be something that makes this book less than perfect."
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for fiction that centers women. You'll love it.