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Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal
6 reviews
sabs98's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was so wonderfully written. The author's skillfulness in painting a portrait of each character is amazing; she does this by switching points of view to show the sisters from all perspectives and by describing memories of their pasts that arise as they are navigating new and uncomfortable situations on the pilgrimage together. The most compelling thing about this story is how real and relatable everything is to me as a child of immigrants: everything including their experiences of their ancestral land after having grown up in the West, the pressure and guilt unintentionally imposed on second-generation kids when they fail to meet even the smallest of their parents expectations, the anger and shock at the harmful and unjust patriarchal ways that pervade every part of life. Each sister carries childhood trauma, and the ways in which it plays out in their adult lives makes sense. The author is able to connect everything together so well, every character and every minor plot point has a sensible purpose. Balli Kaur Jaswal might just be my favorite author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Abortion, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Infertility, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Police brutality
Minor: Alcoholism
jordan_noel's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I was expecting this book to be about three sisters reuniting while grieving over their newly-deceased mother. I was not expecting so many important societal issues to follow.
This book talks about the patriarchy (specifically in India), MeToo and women's rights movements, female feticide, marriage, spirituality, and how to connect and adapt to different situations in order to preserve the most important relationships.
I loved these characters and grew closer to them as they slowly learned to trust one another and deconstruct the difficulties of their childhoods together. The only real flaw to me was that the characters didn't feel entirely real as they began to transition into a better relationship with each other. It was close, but just not quite there I don't think.
Overall, I thought this book was great and necessary for anyone learning to sacrifice a bit of their pride to repair lost connects with people they love.
This book talks about the patriarchy (specifically in India), MeToo and women's rights movements, female feticide, marriage, spirituality, and how to connect and adapt to different situations in order to preserve the most important relationships.
I loved these characters and grew closer to them as they slowly learned to trust one another and deconstruct the difficulties of their childhoods together. The only real flaw to me was that the characters didn't feel entirely real as they began to transition into a better relationship with each other. It was close, but just not quite there I don't think.
Overall, I thought this book was great and necessary for anyone learning to sacrifice a bit of their pride to repair lost connects with people they love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Abortion, Sexism, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Police brutality, Rape, Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse
There is a section of the book (maybe 1 page detailing the event and 10 pages mentioning it) about police brutality. In this same area, a group of girls recite sexual assault statistics and detail a rape that occurred recently in a major city---it's very news-like. One character has an alcohol dependency, but it's only really mentioned in the first third of the book and she's making efforts to escape it from the time we know her. One character is in a toxic relationship and experiences emotional and physical abuse. There are heavy instances of misogyny and sexual harassment for the characters once they're in India.saliwali's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Medical content, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Mental illness, Animal death, Bullying, and Grief
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Abortion
Moderate: Grief and Infertility
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
aeoliver's review
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I can’t help but compare this story to the Jetsetters, which is almost an identical story except this one is more focused on connecting to the characters’ culture. The characters are not particularly compelling, despite the beautiful story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Abortion, and Alcoholism
whatannikareads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5/5!
i thought this was such a lovely emotional story about sisterhood, womanhood, and motherhood. this book takes you on a not-so-perfect journey around india, in the efforts to fulfill these three sisters' mother's last wish for them. but the sisters aren't close—both for current reasons and for troubles in their childhood, and the journey becomes a test to see how long they can last this trip.
i really enjoyed how the conflicts of the sisters' traumas and current situations unravels. each sister is really well-developed and feel like real people. it's also a lovely little travel escape since we're all stuck at home (although it does have the irritating elements of family vacations we're all familiar with). i teared up towards the end bc women are so strong and can get through it if we listen and support each other!!!
it's not a straight 5 bc there is one relationship that i couldn't get myself to justify, and i felt that the mother's reaction to it was reasonable bc i really don't think it was ok even in real life ****POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT***** the age difference was too much for me and if it the genders were flipped we would NOT be having it, so i think that bit was a little unnecessary.
other than that, it was a really nice story that i think you'd enjoy if you have sisters, if you're first gen (especially first gen Indian), and/or if you're coping with the loss of a loved one.
i thought this was such a lovely emotional story about sisterhood, womanhood, and motherhood. this book takes you on a not-so-perfect journey around india, in the efforts to fulfill these three sisters' mother's last wish for them. but the sisters aren't close—both for current reasons and for troubles in their childhood, and the journey becomes a test to see how long they can last this trip.
i really enjoyed how the conflicts of the sisters' traumas and current situations unravels. each sister is really well-developed and feel like real people. it's also a lovely little travel escape since we're all stuck at home (although it does have the irritating elements of family vacations we're all familiar with). i teared up towards the end bc women are so strong and can get through it if we listen and support each other!!!
it's not a straight 5 bc there is one relationship that i couldn't get myself to justify, and i felt that the mother's reaction to it was reasonable bc i really don't think it was ok even in real life ****POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT***** the age difference was too much for me and if it the genders were flipped we would NOT be having it, so i think that bit was a little unnecessary.
other than that, it was a really nice story that i think you'd enjoy if you have sisters, if you're first gen (especially first gen Indian), and/or if you're coping with the loss of a loved one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
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