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bookishwithb's review
2.0
this book was SOOOO hard to get through yo I nearly passed out never in my life has it taken me over a week to get through 100 pages
rehamreadabook's review
1.0
to begin with, the writing was terrible. it took me a while to understand what she was talking about
as a diaspora myself, this did not connect with me and in no way did I feel nostalgic.
most memoirs are disturbing i get it, but just because someone has published their life stories doesnt mean i need to read them, right?
besides, this felt more like a practice writing exercise than a proper book
there is not a single character, let alone the main narrator, that i felt relatable to or that had intrigued me
maybe the dadi was someone who I understood better
as a diaspora myself, this did not connect with me and in no way did I feel nostalgic.
most memoirs are disturbing i get it, but just because someone has published their life stories doesnt mean i need to read them, right?
besides, this felt more like a practice writing exercise than a proper book
there is not a single character, let alone the main narrator, that i felt relatable to or that had intrigued me
maybe the dadi was someone who I understood better
erikabjo's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I tried really hard liking this. It is so beautifully written when you can understand what is being said. Suleri writes delightfully reflective about places and people, and somberly about their lives. Unfortunately, at least 25% of this autobiography is so dense and hard to understand you lose interest in it. But then again, maybe it isn’t for me to understand.
evvahoo's review
3.0
interesting memoire and structure. I see why it is structured that way and indeed it is interesting and works well for a autobiography. However, it made the reading process very slow and tiring. Overall, I just didn't enjoy reading it really.
hamgamgee's review
5.0
Took me a while to get thru this one bc I wanted to soak up every word- I admit I am lacking in knowledge of the political context this book takes place but I feel that the author points out an interesting dynamic in religion and how it can manipulate gender ? I also think the author eludes to the restrictive nature of language and terminology. I’m still unpacking this
zainab_h's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
ojaswisharma's review against another edition
This book is a convoluted mess that made me forget I know the English language. My eyes would just glaze over a page because I wasn't understanding much of it either way, until suddenly and startlingly, a random sentence would make sense and reassure me that I do, indeed, know the English language. This book is 'about' grief, living in Pakistan, natural bilingualism, and all the things that come with it and that is why I picked it up in the first place, but honestly I saw none of that here. At all. I couldn't even tell you what the book was about if it weren't for the blurb or the introduction. There are nine randomly placed essays (?) in the book that are placed in a random order for no reason that I can fathom, but I suppose it doesn't matter either way because the book makes no sense. I couldn't tell you what a single essay in the book was about, because they are basically about nothing. If you read the first five pages, and like me, believe that it's okay to have an abstract start that is hard to wrest meaning out of, please be informed that the rest of the book is written in exactly the same manner. It is tiring to read. Occasionally, 1-2 lines would start making sense and Suleri, bitterly afraid of the reader, god forbid, actually understanding the text, would quickly venture back into her spindly, punctuation lacking, random string of words. There are two ways to read this book, both of which I tried- 1. Letting your eyes glaze over a page until something makes sense or looks like can make sense 2. Trying to read a passage multiple times until you can clearly see it's not supposed to make any sense.
I can't really see anyone enjoying this book, and not feel frustrated with the composition or lack thereof.
I wanted to provide some examples of text to go with this review and honestly, the whole book is an example because it is all written in the same way. I wanted to like this book, and I was ready to go past everything to like this book, but it has no substance, no thoughtfulness, nothing. There is no reason at all for anybody to pick this book up.
I can't really see anyone enjoying this book, and not feel frustrated with the composition or lack thereof.
I wanted to provide some examples of text to go with this review and honestly, the whole book is an example because it is all written in the same way. I wanted to like this book, and I was ready to go past everything to like this book, but it has no substance, no thoughtfulness, nothing. There is no reason at all for anybody to pick this book up.