Reviews

Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi

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nikkideeley's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0

Book 62 of 2024: Burnt Sugar - Avni Doshi

Antara’s mother Tara is showing signs of early onset dementia. Their relationship has always been fraught with Antara experiencing a turbulent childhood due to a lot of her mother’s choices, now she must make peace with the past to be her mother’s caregiver.

Review:

⭐️3/5

I really don’t know how to feel about this book. For the most part the narrative was rather disjointed and messy, and I wasn’t particularly fond of the pseudoscience throughout that, whilst made sense in the context of the story, may be damaging if someone takes it seriously (the sugar impact/insulin brain and dementia). I did think the childhood trauma long-term impacts were well examined, in a subtle way that may come across as bizarre to some people. I found the premise very interesting, examining how a relationship between mother and daughter can be so fraught and how the balance changes over time. The ending left me somewhat confused and unsure on my own feelings, it felt inconclusive. Overall, not a book I’d recommend as it wasn’t my cup of tea.

Challenges:

📚Books in 2024: 62/60

📚52 Book Club Challenge: 24/52

📚Prompt #17 of the 52 Book Club Challenge: Nominated for The Booker Prize

Book Information:

📖 Pages: 230

📖 Format: Paperback

📖 Type: Fiction

📖 Genre: Contemporary, Literary

Favourite Quotes:

“I am grieving, but it’s too early to burn the body”

“Miscommunications emerge from mislaid certainty”

“You should worry about your own madness instead of mine”

“I have a striking sensation that life is short, that I can feel the minutes ticking by, that I don’t have much time left”

zoe_gluning's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective

Strong character development? Yes

5.0

ria_sedai's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.5

olivia_holmes's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

3.0

anjalisudarsan's review against another edition

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5.0

Loved Avni Doshi's writing style and the way her descriptions felt so colourful and real. The story though especially Antara, the protagonist's life, felt like a whole trainwreck to read through. The dysfunctional relationship between the manipulative mother, Tara, was so heartbreaking to read. The way Antara behaves as an adult makes more sense when you keep reading through the flashbacks, which I thought felt well connected in some way. I get that the viewers couldn't stomach some of the descriptions in this book - but that's life! And people who think/live like this exist.