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A review by thatokiebird
Prelude to a Riot by Annie Zaidi
3.0
I enjoyed this one, especially the individual’s voices and their family dynamics. The book was fairly fast-paced and for a book translated I feel I followed along well. And the list of characters at the beginning of the book was very helpful and I referenced it more than a few times.
And as I’m unfamiliar with so many aspects of the culture and politics, I know a lot went over my head, so it’s difficult for me to attempt to review. I read an article with the author after I finished the book, and this quote explains the essence of the book exquisitely - “[the book is] less concerned with the fate of individuals it describes and more with the fracturing of the body of the town itself. It is less the event of violence, and more the invention of it.”
This was the twelfth and final choice of the year for an online book club, and yet another book I previously had not known existed. I think next year it would be nice to find another similar casual book club to expand my reading list once more.
I’m not one to underline in my books but if I were, these passages stood out to me:
A book is a book. It does not hurt to read stories and poems. They give you knowledge of people’s hearts, which is the most precious knowledge of all.
My grandfather has no vision. Eyes, yes. He has eyes for everything. Eighteen types of butterflies in our garden. Twelve types of flowers, four types of ferns which do not appear to flower, yet they do.
One does not always miss what one knows. Sometimes the thing you miss most is the thing you never had.
And as I’m unfamiliar with so many aspects of the culture and politics, I know a lot went over my head, so it’s difficult for me to attempt to review. I read an article with the author after I finished the book, and this quote explains the essence of the book exquisitely - “[the book is] less concerned with the fate of individuals it describes and more with the fracturing of the body of the town itself. It is less the event of violence, and more the invention of it.”
This was the twelfth and final choice of the year for an online book club, and yet another book I previously had not known existed. I think next year it would be nice to find another similar casual book club to expand my reading list once more.
I’m not one to underline in my books but if I were, these passages stood out to me:
A book is a book. It does not hurt to read stories and poems. They give you knowledge of people’s hearts, which is the most precious knowledge of all.
My grandfather has no vision. Eyes, yes. He has eyes for everything. Eighteen types of butterflies in our garden. Twelve types of flowers, four types of ferns which do not appear to flower, yet they do.
One does not always miss what one knows. Sometimes the thing you miss most is the thing you never had.