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rebeccazh's review against another edition
4.0
Quick read and really engrossing. I liked this more than [b:Sugarbread|28230013|Sugarbread|Balli Kaur Jaswal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463645720l/28230013._SX50_.jpg|48259928] because I had a few issues with the author's style in Sugarbread. This book revolves around a Sikh family and it shows the family sort of imploding as Singapore progresses, because of repressed shame, mental illness, and the clash of modernity with tradition. The author took care to portray very complex characters. I loved the way she explored mental illness and shame. Some of the characters and plot points were also quite thought-provoking; for instance, the unseen mother. Also loved the descriptions of Singapore - so vivid and so familiar.
ayag33's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alexdoglover's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
zahrowl's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
I hated the characters in the first two chapters because of their very human flaws, upbringing and environment, and I'm so happy for them when they and their situations improve later. Balli Kaur's prose is both beautiful and accessible and this family drama thoroughly explores societal and familial expectations, mental illness and inheritance in parallel with the development of 1970s-1990s Singapore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Death, Racism, Death of parent, Colonisation, Classism, Cursing, and Eating disorder
memoryoflife's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-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
5.0
I typically don't ascribe starred ratings to the texts I read as part of the various literature curriculums I'm studying, mainly due to the fact that I'm not voluntarily reading these books for leisure, but rather for academic reasons. It feels rather unfair to give a book I would not have otherwise ever touched a poor rating, simply because it wasn't my taste.
That being said, I do have to make exceptions for the books that do fit my taste. The ones that impress me, awe me; the stories that grip me with the same excitement and joy that I would derive from a book I pick up of my own accord. And Inheritance by Balli Kaur Jaswal fits that bill perfectly.
I'm not quite sure how to even describe this book. There is, on one hand, the nationalistic aspect of reading this; as someone who hails from Singapore myself, there were so many key elements of Inheritance I found myself nodding my head to. Regardless of whether I'd actually experienced it myself, or if it happened too far back in the past for me to even have existed yet, it's all so wholly familiar, etched in the history of the country, and perhaps still reflected here today. Narain's struggles, in particular, though undoubtedly much harsher in the pastgiven the raids enacted on suspicions of homosexuality and dissent at the time , are still reflected in the country today; although people have come around to tolerating the LGBTQ+ community, the possibility of equal rights seems like a distant dream, for a generation that will exist long after I am gone.
On the other hand, the theme of mental illness in this book hit way, way too close to home for me. I refuse to divulge too much information about my circumstances, butthe way that Amrit's undiagnosed mental condition, eventually revealed to be bipolar disorder, throws the entire family structure into utter disarray, with some of the characters needing to build their lives around hers (much to the guilt she feels, despite her inability to stop), feels so evocative of my own family issues. I thank the fact that it did not get as bad as it did for the characters in this book, but there's no doubt that Inheritance hit me in a deeply personal way.
Overall, just an utterly incredible book. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to read this, and I definitely long to check out Balli Kaur Jaswal's other books in the future!
[Read as part of my literature curriculum]
That being said, I do have to make exceptions for the books that do fit my taste. The ones that impress me, awe me; the stories that grip me with the same excitement and joy that I would derive from a book I pick up of my own accord. And Inheritance by Balli Kaur Jaswal fits that bill perfectly.
I'm not quite sure how to even describe this book. There is, on one hand, the nationalistic aspect of reading this; as someone who hails from Singapore myself, there were so many key elements of Inheritance I found myself nodding my head to. Regardless of whether I'd actually experienced it myself, or if it happened too far back in the past for me to even have existed yet, it's all so wholly familiar, etched in the history of the country, and perhaps still reflected here today. Narain's struggles, in particular, though undoubtedly much harsher in the past
On the other hand, the theme of mental illness in this book hit way, way too close to home for me. I refuse to divulge too much information about my circumstances, but
Overall, just an utterly incredible book. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to read this, and I definitely long to check out Balli Kaur Jaswal's other books in the future!
[Read as part of my literature curriculum]
kcfromaustcrime's review
3.0
Read for our f2f bookclub discussion - this was another book that divided the group up into like and did not like camps initially. Some difficulties with keeping track of the timeline leaps, and a lot of concerns about difficult to understand motivations. Made for a typically robust discussion which is always a very good thing.
clare_tan_wenhui's review
5.0
The grittier companion predecessor work to [a:Balli Kaur Jaswal|6924387|Balli Kaur Jaswal|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1475718370p2/6924387.jpg]'s later [b:Sugarbread|34629478|Sugarbread|Balli Kaur Jaswal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1489984982s/34629478.jpg|48259928]. Perhaps the tautness of this book, coupled with its highly topics controversial and yet gut-wrenching themes, compelled me to rate it higher. A high recommended piece of SingLit.
jwsg's review
3.0
I read Sugarbread before reading Inheritance. Both featured a Punjabi family living in Singapore but the two novels had very different feels to them. Sugarbread felt more intimate in some ways; the focus of the novel was very much on the experience of a young Punjabi girl trying to unravel and understand her mother's past and why it seemed to burden her so much.
Inheritance focusses on the struggles of the widowed Harbeer and his children: eldest son Gurdev who resents his successful cousin Karam for being the son Harbeer wished he had; second son Narain whom Harbeer sends overseas for his university education in a bid to cure him of his homosexuality; and daughter Amrit whose struggles with (undiagnosed) bipolar disorder lead her family and community to condemn her as a drunk and a shameless harlot. Their struggles take place against the larger backdrop of the developments and changes taking place in Singapore in the 1970s - the attempts to build an ordered and disciplined society by stamping down on any signs of hippieness or loose morals (e.g. by making men with long hair cut their hair short), the razing of old kampongs and resettling of residents into concrete public housing blocks, stamping down on political dissent, etc. I still found the novel and enjoyable read overall but I think there was something lost in making the trade-off between having the novel focus more intimately on the story of a family and having it tell the larger story of Singapore's political and social landscape at the time.
Inheritance focusses on the struggles of the widowed Harbeer and his children: eldest son Gurdev who resents his successful cousin Karam for being the son Harbeer wished he had; second son Narain whom Harbeer sends overseas for his university education in a bid to cure him of his homosexuality; and daughter Amrit whose struggles with (undiagnosed) bipolar disorder lead her family and community to condemn her as a drunk and a shameless harlot. Their struggles take place against the larger backdrop of the developments and changes taking place in Singapore in the 1970s - the attempts to build an ordered and disciplined society by stamping down on any signs of hippieness or loose morals (e.g. by making men with long hair cut their hair short), the razing of old kampongs and resettling of residents into concrete public housing blocks, stamping down on political dissent, etc. I still found the novel and enjoyable read overall but I think there was something lost in making the trade-off between having the novel focus more intimately on the story of a family and having it tell the larger story of Singapore's political and social landscape at the time.
rebeccazh's review against another edition
4.0
Quick read and really engrossing. I liked this more than [b:Sugarbread|28230013|Sugarbread|Balli Kaur Jaswal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463645720l/28230013._SX50_.jpg|48259928] because I had a few issues with the author's style in Sugarbread. This book revolves around a Sikh family and it shows the family sort of imploding as Singapore progresses, because of repressed shame, mental illness, and the clash of modernity with tradition. The author took care to portray very complex characters. I loved the way she explored mental illness and shame. Some of the characters and plot points were also quite thought-provoking; for instance, the unseen mother. Also loved the descriptions of Singapore - so vivid and so familiar.
raehillzreads's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0