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A review by aritrigupta
The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R. Pan
1.0
I have never regretted buying a book, but I do so after reading this drab muddy brown mess.
See, what I did there?
Here are the things I liked:
1) Taiwan - the description of places, food, the traditions, even the Taiwanese characters who were in the story.
Here are the things I abhorred:
1) LEIGH CHEN SANDERS and her not being Taiwanese enough- I feel all kinds of mean when I think of writing about her.
Here are the things that were meaningless to the story
1) Dad - I mean he lost his love too, in such a violent manner. Would you not want to show how all of this impacted him and not just the snowflake of the century?
2) Alex Moreno - dickhead friend of the century asking "what colour" at his best friend's mom's funeral, and talking about who kissed who when said friend is dealing with death
3) The idiotic romance that became the whole point of whatever this book was
4) Ultramarine doubts, and warm ochre yellows, and traffic cone orange panic - all the colour talk that got very annoying after the first few references.
5) Smoke and memories - where Liegh could understand Mandarin fluently, or all the people there who spoke no English in real life, spoke so deftly to make her understand.
I feel like a total dickhead because I didn't like a book that dealt with so many important issues around depression, suicide, parental and familial love, but we all react and absorb things differently. I do not hate on people who loved this book, but I cannot abide by how a story revolving around such major issues could have an entitled snowflake like Leigh narrating it from her viewpoint. She gave no chances to the people around her, yet acted like a total brat who put in no efforts to anything at all. I understand that such POVs are necessary for the target audience of this book, but I hope their takeaway is not that they can get away with being such self-centred dunderheads when it comes to life.
Also, can we not call this magical realism? I adore that genre, and I find it unbearable to club this slimey green thing along with those brilliant rainbow ones! I'll stop now.
See, what I did there?
Here are the things I liked:
1) Taiwan - the description of places, food, the traditions, even the Taiwanese characters who were in the story.
Here are the things I abhorred:
1) LEIGH CHEN SANDERS and her not being Taiwanese enough- I feel all kinds of mean when I think of writing about her.
Here are the things that were meaningless to the story
1) Dad - I mean he lost his love too, in such a violent manner. Would you not want to show how all of this impacted him and not just the snowflake of the century?
2) Alex Moreno - dickhead friend of the century asking "what colour" at his best friend's mom's funeral, and talking about who kissed who when said friend is dealing with death
3) The idiotic romance that became the whole point of whatever this book was
4) Ultramarine doubts, and warm ochre yellows, and traffic cone orange panic - all the colour talk that got very annoying after the first few references.
5) Smoke and memories - where Liegh could understand Mandarin fluently, or all the people there who spoke no English in real life, spoke so deftly to make her understand.
I feel like a total dickhead because I didn't like a book that dealt with so many important issues around depression, suicide, parental and familial love, but we all react and absorb things differently. I do not hate on people who loved this book, but I cannot abide by how a story revolving around such major issues could have an entitled snowflake like Leigh narrating it from her viewpoint. She gave no chances to the people around her, yet acted like a total brat who put in no efforts to anything at all. I understand that such POVs are necessary for the target audience of this book, but I hope their takeaway is not that they can get away with being such self-centred dunderheads when it comes to life.
Also, can we not call this magical realism? I adore that genre, and I find it unbearable to club this slimey green thing along with those brilliant rainbow ones! I'll stop now.