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sofipitch's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
This book was a very character driven reflection on love and grief. It didn't have much of a plot but I enjoyed the individual characters and their story. I was moving and cleaning a lot while listening, so I feel it not being plotty but still immersive was ideal. The prose was often pretty. My only gripes I feel like are marketing issues? This is marked as horror and isn't horror, it has gothic set dressing but no horror imo.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Classism, Death, Child abuse, and Death of parent
ukponge's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Infidelity
flowchelle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Classism, and Child death
tamarant4's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
3.5
The girl is interfering too much; she is upsetting the house; it can no longer hold on to its secrets the way it used to. More and more of the past is slipping through its fingers, and the house begins to break down further; pipes start to leak, cracks open in the walls, mold spreads, and the cold becomes unbearable. History is beginning to emerge, and the more the house fails to hide it, the more the djinn’s own terror grows. [p. 153]
Sana is fifteen, introverted and motherless: she is still dealing with her mother's death, and her belief that her mother never loved her at all. Her father Bilal decides that they'll move to Durban, a city in South Africa with a large Indian population. There, they rent rooms in Akbar Manzil, a mansion that's been shoddily converted into individual flats. The other inhabitants of the house -- glamorous former pianist Zuleikha, timid Fancy and her garrulous parrot Mr Patel, bitter Razia Bibi, the maid Pinky, the likeable owner Doctor -- are suitably eccentric. But the house itself is also a character, and so are two other entities: the djinn, which weeps in a wardrobe in a boarded-up room, and the ghost of Sana's twin sister, who didn't live long enough to be named and who wants Sana to join her.
Sana roams the house, discovering hidden photographs and diaries, and becomes fascinated with the house's glorious heyday, when ethical industrialist Akbar Manzil built the house for his snooty Anglophile wife Jahanara, populated the garden with exotic plants and animals, and then took a second wife named Meena. The love story of Meena and Akbar, and the bitter jealousy of Jahanara and of Akbar's tyrannical mother, fascinate Sana, and as she unravels the story of Meena's death the unseen djinn (who loved Meena dearly) finds that it can still be interested -- and effectual -- in the world.
I loved the prose style, and the distinct voices of the characters (especially the house!); was slightly irritated by occasional errors (such as 'the Queen's English' in 1930: nope); found Sana's mother-mourning and her 'unmothered' state both poignant and familiar. I'd have liked more of the djinn, though. Though there's not much about Sana's life outside the house, the glimpses of present-day Durban intrigued me. I'll look out for more by this author.
Fulfils the ‘South African Author’ rubric of the Something Bookish Reading Challenge.
Fulfils the ‘Told in non-chronological order’ rubric of the 52 books in 2024 challenge.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
l0v3lu's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Blood, Child abuse, and Death
kodi_rae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I thought this one was really fun and the mystery kept me going for most of the novel. A little spooky, which I also enjoyed, though I wish there had been more about the djinn and how it came to feel so deeply.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Colonisation, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
bessadams's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Religious bigotry
kaywhiteley's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
crisania's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
3.0
This is one of the most depressing books I've read in a while. If the saying " life sucks and then you die" were a book this would be very close to it. So much grief and cruelty. The good: rich world building, interesting and diverse characters. Even though the dual timeline and multiple points of view and characters were a little overwhelming at times it keep me hooked. The house and it's backstory served as a good mystery. While the book was bleak overall, the author did try to end it on a positive hopeful note for most of the characters. Mind the trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, Blood, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
mondovertigo's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Classism, Death, Grief, and Infidelity
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty