banyantree's reviews
16 reviews

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

this book accompanied me to my trip to Montreal and i only picked it up as i am traveling back - 9 hours of commute and it was a mistake as i am ugly crying on the bus 

it is no one's fault, i vaguely knew the premise, but they need to retire this

trope of lost time due to misunderstanding and miscommunication in romances like it's not ok, it opens up a void in my chest and leaves me so depressed...bahman's final letter to roya killed me and when i was finally recovering i read the epilogue and realized that mr. fakhri died trying to unite these two and waterworks started again. another trope that needs to be retired is the mom of a son being the reason a relationship breaks off...idk i expected something political as the reason and not the mom's involvement

also something so precious and political about the story centering around a stationary shop/bookshop 

aaaaah roya and bahman...thank you for being on this bus ride with me and taking me along your journey, i need to now go and recover from all this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Abortion

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

i had to pick this book up a second time this year for me to start reading it and i am glad i came around when i did

i liked the characters sadie and sam right for the start - even though they got annoying with the collective lack of communication as the story progressed. i still found myself rooting for them.

i did not think i had any opinion about marx until his death - the grief and his departure were beautifully described and his absence was felt the way he had described would be felt in the play he never got to be a part of...the blurb of the book reads its a story about sam and sadie but i think it is about the three of them in equal parts and their journey when they started with ichigo and all the games they played and made after that

A Room Called Earth by Madeleine Ryan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.

tried hard to finish the book as i do not want to dnf anymore books for this year but this is just not a book for me right now 

it's written as a stream of consciousness and when i started reading it, it was on a long bus ride - it was fun to read on the bus but not once i took a small break :( 

a lot of observations felt like the conversations i have with my friends which means two things 1) a lot of the observations/comments weren't as thought provoking as i was already familiar with that perspective 2) it has broken down some observations in a very easy to read and accessible manner 

the character had some interesting things to say, and i felt seen in some parts of it, however, right now the character just comes off as a know-it-all. the point where i am stopping is when

she's judging an influencer friend for judging someone else and the past couple of chapters have been that hipocrisy of the character judging others for being judgemental...

this also reads like a phone call from a friend who's getting ready to go out and they're giving you real time updates through the call so maybe this would sit with me better as an audiobook

not finishing for now but i will come back for it later, when i have to take a seriously long bus or train ride

The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

this is not a comprehensive review this is for me to come back to and look at: 

finished the third perveen mistry book ten out of ten no notes cause the book feels like it was written specifically with my interests and preferences in mind thank you 😌 already crying thinking about how the series will eventually end...i know the 5th book us coming out next year (!) so i will take time with the fourth one

my 'review' is also incredibly biased because i see myself in perveen and idk what that says about me but starting to realize (took me three books) that things are not falling in her lap like she's incredibly nosy and that's why things keep on happening with her hahaha reading the books i never caught it because, like her, i am also very self righteous and don't see how my fucking around is causing the finding out but um we move on, perveen ilyyyy

as for colin i love him too, idc if ppl are not interested in her boyfriend, i am seated... he's going to be in town for the next couple of books and i am immensely invested

i like how much i get to learn about history, different cultures, especially parsi, through the books - i love to find out and trace things back to history and i appreciate the research that has gone into creating the unrest and turbulent ambience of a colonized bombay

some critique regarding the plot though, i literally never understood naval's intention to rob the college...i understand khushru was in need of the money but naval was the one who coerced khushru, was it just for kicks and thrill?

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Human Acts by Han Kang

challenging dark emotional relaxing sad tense medium-paced

harrowing

Chrysalis by Anuja Varghese

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

ate this up!

edit: coming back to this and rating it a five stars i have not stopped thinking about these stories

Roaming by Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

the art work was beautiful and i loved the character (most of them 😬) for the most part ! 

felt the tension and the emotions of trying to hold onto friendships into adulthood. 

also felt incredibly seen through dani. it was uncanny how much we dress alike, share interests and habits. 

wish the ending was a little stretched out but that's ok too. 

haven't read any other work by the authors but i am hoping to change that soon ! 

Family Meal by Bryan Washington

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

5.0

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.25