Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

4 reviews

mondovertigo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0


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cas_reads_anything's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

This really packed a punch. I enjoyed moving back and forth between the two timelines and while some of the things depicted were absolutely horrific, it never felt like it was gratuitous or without purpose. This was like two stories woven into one. 

The first was a character study of an apartment building filled with haunted people, living in a (lightly) haunted building. Sana, the main character, is adrift after the death of her sister and mother. She investigates the residents of the building and its history, digging deeper and deeper until she discovers the horrific story of the builder of the home. 

The second timeline follows the original home builder, his family, and the tragedy that befalls them. It’s dark and ominous and you can’t help but root for the safety of the main POV in that timeline even knowing that things are not going to turn out well. Finally, the two timelines merge in an exciting and satisfying ending. 

This was beautifully written and haunting.

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jasminegalsreadinglog's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan is a story that transports a reader into a house with a mind of its own. It reveals what it wants, when it wants. It carries a secret, and the protector of this secret is invisible.

Set in South Africa, this book revolves around Sana, a 15 year old girl who lives with her father. They move into a palatial mansion, where she gets to meet interesting neighbors. The house itself is an enigma, though. Sana starts exploring, and the house starts revealing its secrets to her. 
9
Sana and the Djinn have something in common. Though the Djinn is not exactly the main character of this book (sadly), Sana and the Djinn have parallel metaphorical stories. There's a lot underneath the layers of this story. It's sad in a lot of parts, but also beautiful when you read the whimsical friendship of the Djinn with Meena. I am not sure if this book exactly fits the bill of horror genre, and that's where a reader might struggle.

Thank you, Penguin Group Viking, for this book.

CW: Death, classism, racism, colorism, betrayal, suicidal thoughts, manipulation, infidelity, medical trauma, ghosts


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hsheehan85's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? No

5.0

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years is hauntingly beautiful. It is well-written, beautiful writing that immersed me into the compelling story of love, loss, grief, and guilt. 

The story follows Sana as she moves in to the rundown mansion on the hill with her father, Bilal. There are other tenants in the mansion, each with their own stories of love, loss, grief, and guilt. Sana learns a bit about each one on her journey to find out about love and what happened to the original owners of the house.. 

There is a djinn who haunts the mansion, seemingly stuck there by the past events Sana is trying to bring to light. The mansion is also haunted by the tragedy of the past. The love, loss, grief and guilt burying itself into the "bones" of the mansion. 

I absolutely adored the different perspectives of what love is and how different people perceive love, loss, and grief. How all of these things mixed in can make one feel guilty. How different people process their guilt. How the story made me smile, laugh, angry and cry because the all these feelings come across the pages in a beautiful poetic way. 

This book is one of the most beautiful love stories and one of the most tragic. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

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