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Kaleidoscope by Cecily Wong
“I’ve found that loneliness has a way of feeling significant, no matter how frivolously the hours are spent.” What could have been a poignant exploration of the complex bond between two sisters is ultimately undercut by an underwhelming cast of characters, an uninspired romance & an uneven storyline. While there were scenes within Kaleidoscope that…
2.5 STARS, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, Adult, America, asian american, asian diaspora, China, chinese american author, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, family, female authors, GRIEF, India, LITERARY FICTION, NEW YORK, Oregon, published in 2022, read in 2022, ROMANCE, SISTERS, travel, wellness culture -
Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang
“Languages aren’t just made of words. They’re modes of looking at the world. They’re the keys to civilization. And that’s knowledge worth killing for.” Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution is an fierce indictment against colonialism. Within this superbly written slow-burner of a bildungsroman, R.F. Kuang presents her…
1820s, 1830s, 19TH CENTURY, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, abuse, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, alternate history, anxiety-inducing reads, atmospheric, babel, Babel or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution, belonging, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, China, chinese american author, class, cliques, colonialism, coming of age, cultural dissonance, dark academia, DEATH, england, FANTASY, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, great storytelling, growing up, GUILT, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, identity, India, language, lgbtq+, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, MAGIC, morality, MURDER, muslim side characters, My reviews, MYSTERY, orphans, oxford, philosophical, politics, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 2022, queer undercurrents, R.F. Kuang, RACE, read in 2022, reading, revenge, secret societies, secretiveness, ship, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, strong sense of place, SUSPENSE, teachers, terrific prose, tragedy, travel, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, war -
Seeking Fortune Elsewhere: Stories by Sindya Bhanoo
“The memory of the past, the futility of the future, it leaves her breathless.” Seeking Fortune Elsewhere presents its readers with a well-crafted collection of short stories mapping the paths of those who leave and those who are left behind. Set in America and southern India these narratives explore the realities of leaving one’s homeland…
3.5 STARS, Adult, ageing, America, belonging, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, female authors, India, indian american author, intergenerational, loneliness, Longing, MEMORY, migration/immigration, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, restrained prose, Seeking Fortune Elsewhere, short stories, Sindya Bhanoo, SLICE OF LIFE, travel -
Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan
Midnight at Malabar House presents its readers with a fairly promising start to a new sleuthing series. As you may or may not know I am a big fan of whodunnits and golden detective fiction and ever since finishing Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries I have been on the lookout for a historical mystery with a…
1940s, 1950s, 20th century, 3.25 stars, 3rd pov, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, colonialism, CRIME, DETECTIVE, HISTORICAL FICTION, India, male authors, Midnight at Malabar House, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, police investigation, published in 2020, read in 2022, reading, Vaseem Khan, whodunnit -
Honor by Thrity Umrigar
Previously to reading Thrity Umrigar’s Honor I’d read another novel with the same title and subject matter. Both books make for harrowing reads, however, whereas I found Elif Shafak’s more thoughtful tone to be more appropriate to the subject fitting, here, well, Umrigar’s undermines her social commentary by throwing into the mix a rushed romantic…
2.5 STARS, Adult, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, class, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), distressing reads, female authors, graphic content, hinduism, Honor, honor killings, India, indian american author, insta love, Islam, journalism, MELODRAMA, MURDER, My reviews, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, Religion, revenge, ROMANCE, Thrity Umrigar, trauma, violence, violence against women -
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Cheesy, boring, poorly executed. While there is indeed a murder and the identity behind the culprit is, supposedly, a ‘mystery’, The Widows of Malabar Hill struck me as something in the realms of a third-rate period drama. The first part of the novel introduces us to Perveen Mistry, our protagonist, and works to establish the…
1910s, 1920s, 2 STARS, 3rd pov, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, cheating, cheesy, courtroom drama, CRIME, divorce/separations, drama, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, India, lawyers, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MARRIAGE, MURDER, murder investigation, murder mystery, My reviews, MYSTERY, Not Like Other Girls, Perveen Mistry, published in 2018, read in 2021, reading, Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill, weak prose, widows, zoroastrianism -
The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob
“People always say time stands still, and it really is that, you know. You find the thing you love the most, and time will stop for you to love it.” A few months ago I read and loved Mira Jacob’s Good Talk so I was quite looking forward to The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing as…
20th century, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, ARTISTS, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cultural dissonance, DEATH, drama, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, forgiveness, GUILT, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, illness, India, indian american author, intergenerational, MARRIAGE, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Mira Jacob, My reviews, New Mexico, photographers, published in 2014, read in 2021, reading, siblings, washington -
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
Mira Jacob’s Good Talk is a small gem of a memoir. Jacob combines different media to discuss a number of issues and topics. Jacob transports to the page the difficult conversations she’s had with her son about race, while also recounting her own experiences growing up as a first-generation Indian-American. Much of Good Talk takes…
2000s, 2010s, 4 STARS, Adult, America, American, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, colorism, Contemporary, dialogue heavy, family, female authors, Good Talk, Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations, Graphic Novels, India, indian american author, MEMOIR, migration/immigration, Mira Jacob, mothers & sons, My reviews, Nonfiction, politics, published in 2019, RACE, read in 2021, reading, Sequential Art, social issues -
The Archer by Shruti Swamy
Throughout the course of reading The Archer, I was painfully aware that I was in fact reading a novel. That is to say, I did not think this was a particularly ‘immersive coming-of-age’ story, quite the contrary. Almost every line I read struck me as contrived and as attempting (and failing) to be eloquent and…
1960s, 1970s, 2 STARS, 20th century, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, dancing, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, growing up, heavy on telling, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, India, indian american author, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, MARRIAGE, mothers & daughters, My reviews, navel gazing, pregnancy, published in 2021, purply prose, queer, read in 2021, reading, slow pacing, sports, style over character, stylised prose, subject over characters/story, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #1 by Ram V.
A Neil Gaimanesque sort of comic (think Good Omens & Sandman) set in contemporary India and featuring Hindu gods. Death is fired from her job and takes up residence in the recently deceased body of Laila Starr. There is a prophecy of sorts involving a child who apparently is destined to make humans immortal. Once…
luce [is reading] 