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madhukari's review against another edition
5.0
So glad to have accidentally stumbled upon this beautiful historical Saphhic romance set in colonial India. It narrates the untold story of silenced tawaifs. The lyrical prose and the heart wrenching love story will live on in my mind. The book reminded me of The Song of Achilles.
candles_and_books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
riofka's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
suhaniv's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
suyashi29's review against another edition
4.0
I did not want this book to end :(.
The play with the idea of memory and light was just gorgeous. I found it to be slightly rushed and sometimes bordering on too much information about historical figures I couldn't really care about, but oh what an absolute delight!
The play with the idea of memory and light was just gorgeous. I found it to be slightly rushed and sometimes bordering on too much information about historical figures I couldn't really care about, but oh what an absolute delight!
ooo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
foxowl2005's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
starryeyedenigma's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
"Once you said happiness exists only in romances. That may be true. But aananda is different - its in oneself and awakened in different ways, mainly through conversations with someone of like heart." - Chapla to Nafis..
This is the story of a summertime love/romance between two courtesans - Chapla Bai from Kashi and Nafis Bai, set in the 17th Century Nawabi India in Lucknow.
I had a lot of difficulty getting into the book - the historic references were new to me and there were too many characters thrown in right in the start with the assumption that the reader will just understand who the author is referring to and what is their role in the story. A major disappointment was that because of this, I couldnt care about any of the characters and felt a major lack of chemistry between the two leading ladies. I was almost going to DNF it, but I ploughed on.
Towards about 60% into the book however, I was able to get a hang of the historic references and the settings of 17th Century India. The writing is extremely gorgeous and poetic throughout the book and there were a lot of sentences that I related to regarding love, ageing and the fleeting nature of beauty and desire.
The best part about reading this book for me however was the fact that as per the author's own research, India was not a homophobic country in the pre colonial era. Same sex relationships were not looked down upon and were practiced openly without any censure from society. I was amazed to read about the open sexuality and display of feminine interests such as jewellery, clothing, romance, etc. from both men and women. And women in kothas/courtesans in that age were one of the richest in the society! Can you believe it? Yes, heterosexuality was preferred, but only in order to create heirs. So in many ways, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about 17th Century India, where we were so open and didnt have this communal divide between Hindus and Muslims that we are plagued with now.
All in all, I'm glad I didnt DNF the book. There were some great things about the book, but I guess it wont rank very high in my rating because of the other issues I mentioned :)
This is the story of a summertime love/romance between two courtesans - Chapla Bai from Kashi and Nafis Bai, set in the 17th Century Nawabi India in Lucknow.
I had a lot of difficulty getting into the book - the historic references were new to me and there were too many characters thrown in right in the start with the assumption that the reader will just understand who the author is referring to and what is their role in the story. A major disappointment was that because of this, I couldnt care about any of the characters and felt a major lack of chemistry between the two leading ladies. I was almost going to DNF it, but I ploughed on.
Towards about 60% into the book however, I was able to get a hang of the historic references and the settings of 17th Century India. The writing is extremely gorgeous and poetic throughout the book and there were a lot of sentences that I related to regarding love, ageing and the fleeting nature of beauty and desire.
The best part about reading this book for me however was the fact that as per the author's own research, India was not a homophobic country in the pre colonial era. Same sex relationships were not looked down upon and were practiced openly without any censure from society. I was amazed to read about the open sexuality and display of feminine interests such as jewellery, clothing, romance, etc. from both men and women. And women in kothas/courtesans in that age were one of the richest in the society! Can you believe it? Yes, heterosexuality was preferred, but only in order to create heirs. So in many ways, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about 17th Century India, where we were so open and didnt have this communal divide between Hindus and Muslims that we are plagued with now.
All in all, I'm glad I didnt DNF the book. There were some great things about the book, but I guess it wont rank very high in my rating because of the other issues I mentioned :)
wordylocks's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
sneha65594's review
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5