Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

9 reviews

heather667's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Chronic illness, Sexism, Misogyny, Racism, Cancer, Ableism, Grief, and Medical content

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Miscarriage

Minor: Racial slurs and Police brutality

bookswithbront's review

challenging emotional hopeful 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

3.5

I thought this book was going to be a lighthearted rom com with some cheesy Pride and Prejudice references, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Somali Dev’s writing is gorgeous, the characters were fascinating, and I’m already so invested in the Raje family after just one book. At times, however, I did really struggle with this book. It did a great job and addressing certain complex topics like intersectional identities, class, and trauma, but I also felt like it yada yada’d some of the biggest issues its characters dealt with. Throughout the whole story, DJ’s biggest grievance with Trisha is that she said she wouldn’t be interested in a member of “the hired help,” something that is borderline unforgivable and that she never really apologizes for. Trisha and DJ both apologize for certain things, but the book acts as though the hurtful things they said to each other were equal, and I don’t think that’s the case at all. The book also made a bit of a straw man of the very complex issues of disability, the right-to-die movement, etc. While Emma’s case was unique, no one else acknowledged the validity of some of her perspective, treating it like a temper tantrum that needed to be resolved. However, I didn’t feel that Dev was pushing any sort of agenda on either of these complex topics, which would be difficult to address at a deeper level in a book like this. And though I was so frustrated by Trisha’s character, I’m hoping that’s a one-off, and I’m excited to read the rest of the Raje family series! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual assault, Dementia, Police brutality, and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs

saukittome's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Medical content, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infertility, Stalking, Dementia, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Miscarriage

chelsearosales's review against another edition

emotional funny tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Terminal illness, Classism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Miscarriage and Infertility

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Dementia, and Fire/Fire injury

laurennbrackbill's review

emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Dementia, Hate crime, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Infertility, Racism, and Rape

internationalreads's review

adventurous informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Classism, Grief, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

shams96's review

emotional funny lighthearted tense 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? Yes

3.5

The book is very slow, but the characters are interesting and that’s what kept me from marking it as a DNF. Let me note that I have never read or seen Pride & Prejudice in any form, so I have no idea how this would compare.

 Trisha was annoyingly entitled at points and guarded even from a reader’s standpoint. Having so many different family members that Trisha interacted with is what gave the story character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, and Trafficking

Minor: Dementia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

smithy361's review

funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Infertility

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Dementia, Death, and Cursing

allisonwonderlandreads's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

"This is how Trisha's dating life had worked since college: every now and again some guy came along and they confused the heck out of each other until he disappeared, leaving her more relieved than sad, and embarrassed as hell about her inability to know what was going on when it came to men. Why were men such complicated beasts anyway? Relationships felt like full-time babysitting jobs crossed with high-level code cracking."

 

This is one of the most emotionally accurate Pride & Prejudice retellings I've had the joy of reading. It's gender-bent, it's contemporary, the name "Wickham" makes me want to punch people, and the characters' personal growth was astoundingly beautiful while also stressful in the moment. I loved Dr. Trisha Raje as our Darcy character. Her arrogance is perfectly off-putting from both a real world and Pride & Prejudice frame of reference. Meanwhile, DJ is a saucy take on Lizzy Bennet with his big heart and straight-backed pride.

 

The story went beyond the original by weaving in new elements to reflect modern life and a far more diverse (in all senses of the word) cast than we see in an Austen novel. It builds on Austen's commentary on wealth and social class by turning a sharper eye on sexism and bringing in conversation about immigration, racism, and police brutality.

 

Dev builds a world that feels lifelike not only because she includes so many aspects of our brutal world but because she renders each individual character with such loving detail. Backstory for both families is deep and moving, and it made me want to read more, whether it was about the past or the future of any side character.

 

Finally, the story is powerful because of the messaging. It talks about the bonds of family and all that can be left unsaid in our long histories together, the pain and the love. And it reminds us that our work doesn't define us. We matter outside our professional accomplishments and what we can do for others (yeah, that part led to some tears on this end).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Dementia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Child abuse