fathima_ashab's Reviews (159)

This book is my all time favourite. I have lost count of how many times I have reread it. the vintage-y and extravagant vibes it gives is everything to me. And I just loved this edition so much. The cover looks gorgeous!!

It's been long I read a book in one sitting. This series of ten short stories got me hooked and I couldn't keep it down until I finished it. As the title says, this is based on the theme of COVID-19 with author's thoughts and imagination weaved into the stories. It was original, dark and easy to read through. It almost felt kind of a nightmare more than a fairytale. To comment on Gayathri's writing, it was beautiful and capable of so much potential but I felt it could have been polished a little to make it more intense. Because in a couple of places, I found myself disengaged from the story and the characters. Again it's just my subjective opinion but otherwise it's a good one for a quick and easy read in this lockdown period.

This book was not what I expected it to be. I don't know, maybe the title and the cover gave me a different idea so I was really surprised to read a completely another theme which I found super cool and stood out in the book. So the base as you can see from the title is that it's happening in the place called Pokhran near Jaipur after a nuclear test gone wrong and children are being born disabled. Our protagonist is one such special child. I found it really emotional at some point and in some places there were hopes and positivity that was so good to read about.
I also got to learn about Paracracy which is something like communism but not exactly. It is about individual having freedom to accumulate wealth as much as possible for themselves but they can't pass it to children. I don't think I completely agree with it. But I found it interesting. So at the base, the story is about how our protagonist, Chaithanya exposes the truth in the conspiracy of nuclear test gone wrong, brings justice and helps people in Pokhran. There was also an underlying romantic relationship(s) which I didn't like much. I mean it wasn't odd but the author could have done it well. And the writing could have been polished a bit. Otherwise it's a good read.

3.5

I love books that have twins in it. They always fascinate me and hence this book wasn't an exception. I knew nothing about it when I got into the book other than fact that Augusta from Hedley Green is a bit nerdy who can memorize dictionary and tell facts and histories to people whenever she can relate to whatever they are talking. She has a twin who is a complete opposite of who she is and also someone who everyone prefers.


The other day when I stumbled upon a tumblr post that read 'Write marginalized characters but don't write about marginalized characters unless you experience it.' I thought that was a great advice and I really wanted to read books to understand what it exactly meant. I think this book is a great example for that. Joanna being a white has written a marginalized black character named Parfait who is also one of the main characters whose POV we get to see and we also get a chance to know about a place called Burundi in East Africa. I wouldn't have known a place like that exists if not for this book and she didn't try to go deep into explain us what it feels like to be there or to be a black exactly. I guess that's a great example for the post I mentioned above.


I loved Joanna's writing. It felt pretentious at first but then I got familiar with it as I read through and completely fell in love with the characters and the setting, thoughts and everything. She made me long for Spain. It's strange but this book tastes of salt and fresh fish and roasted chicken. It smells of seaweed. Now that's really weird I am sorry

The author takes a journey throughout India to understand the history of our culture and rich heritage. For someone who likes to keep updated on yoga and Ayurveda, it wasn't new for me entirely but other topics like handloom and CropConnect were really interesting to get to know about. It was like visiting the history, lives of entrepreneurs, textiles and other areas through the eyes of Kaninika. She has a great form of articulating her thoughts as well as bringing in the picture of what is happening and what lead to the innovative India where we reclaimed our cultural heritage and implemented in whatever way that is accessible and convenient for the modern lives. I think it has a great wisdom to learn from and analyze and compare the contemporary India to the past.


There are two things that bothered me though. 1) I noticed a couple of times where it was kind of in a doubt whether muslims will accept yoga and Ayurveda. I mean the response was positive but I don't think there's any need to ask it. The book clearly is supposed to be about 'Indian heritage' which means absolutely we are included in that too and we have been practicing like every other person. 2) I found that 'Patanjali' was greatly advertised and to a point, I had to check if it was Baba Ramdev who is funding the book

This happens in Dublin, 1918 when war and disease hits, pandemic occurs which results in understaffed, understock yet overstuffed hospital and Emma takes us to the maternity/flu ward where things unfold under the maintenance of Nurse power, Julia. If you are triggered by death, childbirth, hospitals in general maybe you should stay away from it because honestly this book is all about the descriptions and it might trigger you a lot.


Okay, first, let's be honest, I didn't think I will continue reading this book let alone finish it because the beginning was kind of stretchy and the descriptions were glutted or that's how it made me feel and the fact that she hasn't used the traditional dialogue format, I was even more confused and had to try hard to get into it. But thank God, I pushed myself to read further because if I remember it correctly, the same thing happened with 'ROOM' as well so I gave myself time to get used to her style. But as the story progressed, I found myself getting immersed in the book and the very thing I hated before started making sense and I wanted to know more about the characters. I was so intrigued at the point.


Her descriptions were on point. The amount of research she has done was mind-blowing. It will make onself feel as if she is writing about the current pandemic Corona rather than the one that happened in 1918. The plot was too relatable to the current scenario and I absolutely enjoyed it. The only thing that bothered me was the ending because I felt it was too rushed and could have taken a couple more pages. I wouldn't have minded it honestly.


I don't know if I will recommend it to everyone but if you want to read something relatable to the current pandemic and up for detailed descriptions in books, then maybe you should really pick it up.


Spoiler alert: Stop yourself here if you are going to read it because the twist really took me by surprise and I didn't see it coming at all. I am not sure if I liked the relationship development between Julia and Bridie given only three day time period for the plot but it was really cute and I am glad that Emma has managed to pull it off in a book like this

Never have I ever read a mythology that felt so close to my heart until this book happened. Ahalya whose husband Gautam curses her for committing a sin by being in a relationship with Indra is the first in the Sati series retelling the Indian mythology in a feminist context. There's more to the blatant accusation, of course, as always. I have known and read about other powerful women but I had no idea who Ahalya was. I love her so much after this book. We know how women's pureness was worshipped and how they were dragged down if they chose to be themselves. They were the izzat of their husbands and not their own. Okay, yes, we still are but it was way worse back then. I should thank the author @koraldasgupta for making me completely fall in love with Ahalya. Oh God! I am so happy that @panmacmillanindia chose to send me this book. The power in the thoughts of Ahalya blew my mind and it was so refreshing to get to know her. There is definitely a magic in Koral's writing. Ah, just pick this book up even if you don't like mythology. I am going to treasure this.

Janina who hates her name and gives other people a name she thinks will suit, prefers the company of animals to humans, reads and translates William Blake's poetry, live a life in the remote woodland in Polish, fights for what is right, doesn't let her age determine her abilities, trying to learn Astrology to her best, teaches English in a school is the most underrated heroine in the history of literature. Characters like hers are often not included in the work of fiction but should be included more. When it's a story of a woman, it's always about her family or marriage or relationship but this book was out of the ordinary which had this strong woman Janina and multifaceted yet realistic characters whose values differed in a way but also melted into the reality of the world and its cruelty. I don't beleive in astrology nor had I any interest in it but the way Tokarczuk has written about it has the ability to make anyone get interested in it although some might want to skip it if they much prefer it that way but you can't read it and not get invested in it. All the more, the fact that Tokarczuk has highlighted the parts where animal lives are concerned and when she and her old student sit down to translate Blake's poetry were my favourite parts. I also liked the character 'Oddball' so much. He is that sweetest grandfather or even a friend I would love to have

I wept under the moonlight after finishing this book because a) I didn't want it to end b) it broke my heart c) beautiful book like this are rare to find. 'Love conquers all' - be it religion, country or war. I didn't expect it to be what it is before started reading it. It was so poetical and the sentences were lyrical that I had to read every paragraph that caught my attention twice or thrice before moving to the next paragraph. More than Daya and Aaftab's relationship, I loved Daya's parents' relationship more. Omg! Their bond was so beautiful especially Daya's mother. (Mind you the characters in this book will set you high expectations for every possible relationship