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ninetalevixen 's review for:
The Weight of Our Sky
by Hanna Alkaf
content warnings:
rep:
"Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung. Have you heard this before? It means where we plant our feet is where we must hold up the sky. We live and die by the rules of the land we live in. But this country belongs to all of us! We make our own sky, and we can hold it up — together."
Generally speaking, historical novels aren't really my thing. But Alkaf paints a compelling and heartrending portrait of 1969 Kuala Lumpur through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old girl who just wants to find her mom and keep her safe. The ownvoices Malaysian rep is vivid, though for more specifics I'll direct you to CW's ownvoices review.
And Melati is an immensely likable protagonist: determined yet conscientious, fiercely loyal, battling OCD in a time and place without much understanding or support for mental illness. Her love of music (especially the Beatles) is relatable. Her perseverance is incredible, despite obstacles that would frankly have had me curled up anxiously in a corner — certainly not forging ahead to help others as Melati does.
Honestly I just don't feel like I can do justice to this book. The emotional labor involved in researching and writing it, how sensitively it portrays difficult themes, the thoughtful balance between each of the issues/arcs ... it kind of has to be experienced in its own right.
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CONVERSION: 11.9 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 5 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5
Spoiler
graphic violence, deaths (incl. children, precanon parent death), grief, survivor's guilt, racism & xenophobia, OCD, anxiety triggers, riots, tear gas, arson, description of killing chickens (for food), corporal punishment, mention of bullying, implied attempted rape (witnessed)rep:
Spoiler
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) setting, Asian (Malay, Chinese, Indian) cast; Malaysian Muslim MC with OCD [Melati]"Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung. Have you heard this before? It means where we plant our feet is where we must hold up the sky. We live and die by the rules of the land we live in. But this country belongs to all of us! We make our own sky, and we can hold it up — together."
Generally speaking, historical novels aren't really my thing. But Alkaf paints a compelling and heartrending portrait of 1969 Kuala Lumpur through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old girl who just wants to find her mom and keep her safe. The ownvoices Malaysian rep is vivid, though for more specifics I'll direct you to CW's ownvoices review.
And Melati is an immensely likable protagonist: determined yet conscientious, fiercely loyal, battling OCD in a time and place without much understanding or support for mental illness. Her love of music (especially the Beatles) is relatable. Her perseverance is incredible, despite obstacles that would frankly have had me curled up anxiously in a corner — certainly not forging ahead to help others as Melati does.
Honestly I just don't feel like I can do justice to this book. The emotional labor involved in researching and writing it, how sensitively it portrays difficult themes, the thoughtful balance between each of the issues/arcs ... it kind of has to be experienced in its own right.
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CONVERSION: 11.9 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 5 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5