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breadandmushrooms's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
sophiemattholie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
winniefree's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lydiastorytime's review
4.0
I enjoyed many parts of this book. It’s certainly more character driven than plot driven. Sometimes it got slow. Probably a good read in like small chunks. The story’s are enjoyable but the stakes don’t really feel high. I wish there was more of a point of view, I didn’t feel as inside the stories world as I’d like.
It kind of reminded me of listening to my grandmother tell stories about the poor community she grew up in Appalachia. I related so much to the characters and the experience of girlhood. I grew up in white American Christian communities but so many themes were the same. On the other hand it was interesting to see how other cultures and religions oppress women but basically just in a different font. Also the ways the women in this book took bits of their power back and used the little they had to build community. Lots of lovely mother daughter dynamics I wished I related to. I really appreciate the clear picture of how stuck communities can become in poverty and how governments give the littlest crumbs only to take more. This book displays many heart breaking and infuriating injustices but the overall feeling is rather hopeful. Sometimes this was nice but other times it felt disingenuous. Idk I hope there are communities like this. Maybe it’s made to be more accessible to younger audiences.
It just seemed maybe filtered. Idk perhaps some communities do protect women and girls better than what I expect. But there was only really one small mention of physical abuse that was resolved quickly. It’s made clear how much power the men have but they seemed to abuse it only within a perimeter. Idk it’s hard for me to believe sexual assault would not have more of an effect on these girls and women. Like we only really see one woman struggling mentally… perhaps it’s because it’s in third person it feels like we don’t really get to connect to the internal struggle of the characters.
I think the point is to provide the view that even people in difficult circumstances can have a beautiful life. Though I think that can be done even in stories that show characters hurting in a more personal way.
It kind of reminded me of listening to my grandmother tell stories about the poor community she grew up in Appalachia. I related so much to the characters and the experience of girlhood. I grew up in white American Christian communities but so many themes were the same. On the other hand it was interesting to see how other cultures and religions oppress women but basically just in a different font. Also the ways the women in this book took bits of their power back and used the little they had to build community. Lots of lovely mother daughter dynamics I wished I related to. I really appreciate the clear picture of how stuck communities can become in poverty and how governments give the littlest crumbs only to take more. This book displays many heart breaking and infuriating injustices but the overall feeling is rather hopeful. Sometimes this was nice but other times it felt disingenuous. Idk I hope there are communities like this. Maybe it’s made to be more accessible to younger audiences.
It just seemed maybe filtered. Idk perhaps some communities do protect women and girls better than what I expect. But there was only really one small mention of physical abuse that was resolved quickly. It’s made clear how much power the men have but they seemed to abuse it only within a perimeter. Idk it’s hard for me to believe sexual assault would not have more of an effect on these girls and women. Like we only really see one woman struggling mentally… perhaps it’s because it’s in third person it feels like we don’t really get to connect to the internal struggle of the characters.
I think the point is to provide the view that even people in difficult circumstances can have a beautiful life. Though I think that can be done even in stories that show characters hurting in a more personal way.
ddillon154's review
5.0
This book is wonderfully written and powerfully evocative. It's fiction, but reads like a documentary shining a light on the unseen human costs of development. Set in Bangalore, this could just as easily have been set in any number of postcolonial cities where the rush and fervor to develop comes at the cost of the most marginal denizens who almost invariably get pushed out.
laurenaitken's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
eloisesacares's review
adventurous
emotional
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? No
4.0
ladylizardxvii's review
5.0
This book is not perfect, but then, neither is life, which is what A People's History of Heaven perfectly depicts. This book was beautiful, moving and read like poetry. I thought the first person plural perspective was a brilliant choice: the reader is effortlessly placed right in the middle of all these stories, friend groups and families.
The characters were so well depicted and developed. We get to know Heaven because we get to know the characters so well; this is a people's history, after all. This isn't the 'official' history or the winners' history, this is the true history, an accurate representation of lives.
The story does jump around quite a bit chronologically without very good cues. While this is jarring in some places, I do think it works in a way because the memories and real time events all jumbled up do seem life-like. All these moments together are what make the characters themselves and what lead them to protesting the bulldozers. I do wish that particular thread (the bulldozers in real time) had been a little stronger throughout, but all in all I loved this book and had trouble putting it down.
The characters were so well depicted and developed. We get to know Heaven because we get to know the characters so well; this is a people's history, after all. This isn't the 'official' history or the winners' history, this is the true history, an accurate representation of lives.
The story does jump around quite a bit chronologically without very good cues. While this is jarring in some places, I do think it works in a way because the memories and real time events all jumbled up do seem life-like. All these moments together are what make the characters themselves and what lead them to protesting the bulldozers. I do wish that particular thread (the bulldozers in real time) had been a little stronger throughout, but all in all I loved this book and had trouble putting it down.
lauface's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rahthesungod's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
5.0