Take a photo of a barcode or cover
frasersimons 's review for:
Tomb of Sand
by Geetanjali Shree
Jeez, how to pin down something that takes pride in being undefinable in its pages? I think going in knowing the voice is along the lines of playful, satirical, and that most of it is not concerned with the concrete, but operates on the symbolic and meta levels predominantly—would be a really helpful litmus test. It also is non-western centric and unconcerned with form and structure that is typical; rather it follows an oral tradition that makes it a bit of a chimaera, and often quite slippery.
It centres an old woman and has 3 very distinct parts. There is a plot, but there are a lot of digressions and it is not motivated by plot. It is somewhat character driven, but uses each to sketch social constructs around - well, pretty much everything. Borders and transitions in life are most predominate. Gender roles, familial expectations, how obligations are foisted into certain parties. All of which then again center the old woman protagonist as her story unfolds.
Particularly biting, in terms of questioning how society functions, the purpose of art and said social constructs, and how those play a role in dictating how a story is told and what information is “valid” when crafting one. It pretty much spits in the face of all conventions, and then demonstrates through practice how fun and meaningful it can be to transgress and infringe in liminal spaces; even if it comes with at a really high cost. I don’t I understood everything, since it has quite a bit of cultural touchstones and references you need to google, but even from what I was able to grip onto, I found it excellent. I don’t typically like satirical voices and this vacillated for me because the tone does change quite often. I think I’d have loved it even more if I was on board with the narrator’s personality.
Plus, I read this with a group and it was incredibly - incredibly - helpful to do so. I would have missed out on a lot more impactful symbolism, I’ve no doubt. So, I can see why it’s slightly polarizing. It is undoubtedly a fantastic book though. The question is whether it will be to your taste or not, imo.
It centres an old woman and has 3 very distinct parts. There is a plot, but there are a lot of digressions and it is not motivated by plot. It is somewhat character driven, but uses each to sketch social constructs around - well, pretty much everything. Borders and transitions in life are most predominate. Gender roles, familial expectations, how obligations are foisted into certain parties. All of which then again center the old woman protagonist as her story unfolds.
Particularly biting, in terms of questioning how society functions, the purpose of art and said social constructs, and how those play a role in dictating how a story is told and what information is “valid” when crafting one. It pretty much spits in the face of all conventions, and then demonstrates through practice how fun and meaningful it can be to transgress and infringe in liminal spaces; even if it comes with at a really high cost. I don’t I understood everything, since it has quite a bit of cultural touchstones and references you need to google, but even from what I was able to grip onto, I found it excellent. I don’t typically like satirical voices and this vacillated for me because the tone does change quite often. I think I’d have loved it even more if I was on board with the narrator’s personality.
Plus, I read this with a group and it was incredibly - incredibly - helpful to do so. I would have missed out on a lot more impactful symbolism, I’ve no doubt. So, I can see why it’s slightly polarizing. It is undoubtedly a fantastic book though. The question is whether it will be to your taste or not, imo.