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swar28's review
4.0
I usually avoid non-fiction and memoirs, because sometimes, the books don't hold attention as much as fiction books do. I had my doubts when I knowingly picked up this book as part of the So They Read Reading Challenge 2023 - A book by Indian Authors/First time Authors from India. I was not disappointed at all.
This book is about a day in the Author's life where she looses her grandma. How certain things that happen during that day till the funeral, she is reminded of incidents from the past.
Reading this book from the point of view of a little girl, who is still trying to make sense of things, makes this book full of emotions. The writing of this book is truly beautiful. Apart from the pain described in this book during the distressing times in Kashmir, you still manage to find moments of joy, strength, love. This book is painful and to read through the trauma Farah and her family experienced, makes you want to stop and feel that pain for just a moment. Without going into extreme details about the history, I felt Farah stuck to her own story and put it out there as, 'this is what happened to me to people around me' I really feel this was endearing.
If you are looking for a book that somehow acts as a motivator that could possibly help you fight through many things we experience (specially difficult situations) individually, this book will help.
This book is about a day in the Author's life where she looses her grandma. How certain things that happen during that day till the funeral, she is reminded of incidents from the past.
Reading this book from the point of view of a little girl, who is still trying to make sense of things, makes this book full of emotions. The writing of this book is truly beautiful. Apart from the pain described in this book during the distressing times in Kashmir, you still manage to find moments of joy, strength, love. This book is painful and to read through the trauma Farah and her family experienced, makes you want to stop and feel that pain for just a moment. Without going into extreme details about the history, I felt Farah stuck to her own story and put it out there as, 'this is what happened to me to people around me' I really feel this was endearing.
If you are looking for a book that somehow acts as a motivator that could possibly help you fight through many things we experience (specially difficult situations) individually, this book will help.
farzanarijas's review
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
A definite 5-star read for anyone interested to know about Kashmir and its life in constant restrictions and military presence. Farah Bashir shows how everyday life is affected for every Kashmiri through the beautiful and simple narration of her adolescent life. Like how opening a window at home during the curfew might cost a life, like making a small sound at home on a curfew night can invite army raids even in the middle of the night.
cherryclouds's review
4.0
such a tender and devastating exploration of girlhood against the backdrop of war. there is not a moment where i dont come back and think of this book.
harureads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Absolutely harrowing account of the lives of people who had to live in the post surveillance stage of Kashmir after 1990. Reading every page, I could feel the anxiety and hopelessness being shared, of people losing their most momentous periods of their lives and how they were being robbed of their life.
How do children born after 1990 understand pranks and games, for them the prison of the state remains the only normal as their childhood is stripped away. Older generations losing their quips and personalities to reflect the internal and outside conflict at all times, no one remains the same. This was an incredible account by Bashir as she writes the raw state of being from her childhood.
How do children born after 1990 understand pranks and games, for them the prison of the state remains the only normal as their childhood is stripped away. Older generations losing their quips and personalities to reflect the internal and outside conflict at all times, no one remains the same. This was an incredible account by Bashir as she writes the raw state of being from her childhood.