![Unmarriageable – A book review]()
Romance |
I know retellings are all the rage recently. It looks like I am late to catch up, like every other trend out there. Retelling, a relatively new genre, refer to a new version of a familiar classic maybe in a modernized set up or imagined from a different point of view. After a lot of persuasion (wink.. wink..), I picked Unmarriageable, a new version of Pride and Prejudice.
About the book
Book Name: Unmarriageable
Author: Soniah Kamal
Genre: Fiction – Romance, Retelling
Characters: Jena, Alysba, Mari, Qitty, Lady, Mrs. Pinkie, Mr Barak (The Binats), Valentino Darsee, Bungles Bingla, Jujeen Darsee, Sherry Looclas, Fahad Kaleen
Setting: Pakistan
The plot
Unmarriageable, set in Pakistani background, follows the Pride and Prejudice to the T revolving around the five daughters of Mr and Mrs Binat. Their elder daughters Jena and Alysba work in a school nearby and meet their counterparts “Bungles” Bingla and Valentino Darsee in a wedding.
While Jena and Bungles like each other right from the start, Darsee looks down upon the Binats, thanks to the actions of their dramatic sister and materialistic mother. Alys finds Darsee to be haughty and vain, and she befriends Jeorgeulla Wickaam, Darsee’s cousin who further tarnishes his image.
Soon the Binat family hates him and when Bungles leaves the town without proposing to Jena, they assume it was Darsee’s doing. Do they end up together forms the rest of Unmarriageable.
My initial thoughts
I picked Unmarriageable because I missed Jane Austen and wanted to get into her world, and Unmarriageable did exactly that. I could see the Austen’s characters in Soniah Kamal’s and it stayed true to the original. The sub plots of Kaleen and Sherry (Colleen – Charlotte) and the way they had been adapted to the modern Pakistan fit perfectly.
While I understand it is a retelling, I wish the author had explored the characters deeper. Lady’s character was a cliche and I felt there was more scope for development, given the period it is set in.
I couldn’t avoid feeling it was weird that the characters discuss so much about Austen and even a character talks about Alys being similar to Lizzie, but they didn’t figure out they were literally acting like them. A glaring plot hole maybe?
Things that worked for me
- Unmarriageable stayed true to the original Pride and Prejudice, in terms of social commentary and the plot.
- I loved many of the desi version of the characters like Sherry and Kaleen.
- There are parts where the author shines, especially where she had changed Austen’s text to suit her narration.
Things that didn’t work for me
- Maybe, Unmarriageable was too close the original and I found it unimaginative at places.
- There were places that the prose to be dragging.
- I didn’t find the charm of the Lizzie Bennet in Alysba, but that might be a personal bias.
Bottom-line
While there are lot of things that I wish were better with Unmarriageable, but as a retelling the author succeeds in making me fell nostalgic about Pride and Prejudice. I am still on the lookout for a better retelling of Pride and Prejudice. If you know any, let me know.
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Drama |
Does it ever annoy you when you expect something from a book because it was marketed so but then it turns out entirely different? I picked Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams because it had great reviews and it said it was ‘Bridget Jones meets Americanah’. But it turned out to be something different. Let us find out how Queenie was for me, shall we?
About the book
Book Name: Queenie
Author: Candice Carty-Williams
Genre: Fiction – Drama
Characters: Queenie, Tom, Diana, Darcy, Kyazike, Cassandra
Setting: London, England, The UK
The plot
Queenie is a 25 year old Jamaican British woman, a typical millennial living in the pricey London and working for a newspaper. She has a close friend’s circle and a long term Caucasian boyfriend. Her family consists of overbearing grandparents, a religious maternal aunt and an estranged mother – you know the typical Jamaican family.
Things spiral down fast when her boyfriend proposes a long break from their relationship. Her performance at work suffers and finally she gets fired. Her social life derails when she starts hooking up with men who have no time or interest in her personality.
How Queenie deals with it and gets out of the mess that is her life now with the help of her family and friends forms the rest of the story.
My initial thoughts
Queenie is a tale of a young woman who tries to find her identity between the two cultures. It is less of a love story but more about strong female characters and their friendship and family ties. The characters are flawed but they are relatable and their problems are real. Though set in the UK, their story is from everywhere.
I agree that the Jamaican culture took little back seat among the other themes but from what was described I found it was similar to the Asians. Especially the importance given to family and religious sentiment. I loved how Queenie spoke about the stigma around the mental health and that is something really close to my heart. If only more people get off that mentality soon.
Also when I picked Queenie looking for a cheesy love story but instead found an intense book that spoke about several themes like sexism, feminism, sexual harassment at work and fetishising of Black women’s body. Though they were touched lightly, I am glad Queenie opened the topic at the least.
Things that worked for me
- I loved the flawed characters and the pains were real.
- Queenie talks about the importance of female friendship that sees through every up and down of her life.
- It opens up the topic about the stigma around mental health and taking steps to improve it.
Things that didn’t work for me
- I wish Queenie had spoken more about the racial and other issues.
- I was totally misled by the genre classification and the summary.
Bottom-line
If you loved dry British humor like Chewing Gum (Netflix) or Fleabag, you will love Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. It totally surprised me and I think it is one of my best reads of 2019, as of now.
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![Unmarriageable – A book review]()
Paranormal |
How far would you go for some peace and stability in your life if you have a family heirloom that has a life changing magical power to it? Would you choose to take the risk for the betterment or will gamble with the known problems of your life? The protagonist of The Clockmaker faces the same questions. Find out how it turned out for him!
About the book
Book Name: The Clockmaker
Author: Paromita Goswami
Genre: Fiction – Paranormal
Characters: Ashish, Latha and Vikram Gupta, Bauji.
Setting: Delhi, India
Disclaimer: I received the copy for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. And it has not changed my opinion on the book any manner.
The plot
Ashish is a passionate clockmaker who runs his family legacy business. His not so happy family consists his financially demanding wife and a son who has no interest in his business. He finds a family heirloom that has magical capabilities and a history of its own.
With his wife trying to impress her arch rival Rashmi and his son falling in love with a girl who is not interested in him, he is now having trouble sleeping due to recurrent nightmares and hallucinations. He is not sure if he should use the clock’s powers for his selfishness or continue suffering.
How his decision affects his family and its legacy forms the rest of the story in The Clockmaker.
My initial thoughts
Though it has some supernatural themes, for me The Clockmaker was essentially a family drama. I was thoroughly intrigued by the premise and the prologue was bang on. I enjoyed reading the familial issues and the differences in the attitude of each character towards those issues.
My problem was with the execution of the plot and the lack of uniformity in the pacing. For a horror novel, it felt kinda dragging and not suspenseful.
Things that worked for me
- I liked the family drama part more than the horror element.
- The intriguing premise and the prologue deserves a mention.
- The simple narrative style might work for most of the readers.
Things that didn’t work for me
- The pace was not uniform and it disturbed the flow of the plot.
- If you picked the book for want of supernatural stuff, you might be left wanting.
Bottom-line
If you wanna read a Bollywood style family drama, with a bit of supernatural elements, The Clockmaker might be a good fit for you.
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review, Thriller, YA |
Do you ever give a book a second chance? I mean quite literally – like you read the first time and you don’t like it, but then you give it another chance and ending up appreciating it more? Well, that is what happened with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
About the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Book Name: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Author: Mark Haddon
Genre: Fiction – Drama, Young adult
Characters: Christopher John Francis Boone, Toby, Wellington, Siobhan, Mr. Jeavons, Mrs. Alexander, Ed Boone, Judy Boone, Mr. and Mrs. Eileen Shears
Setting: England, The UK
Plot summary of the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Christopher John Francis Boone, a fifteen year old kid on the Autism/Asperger’s spectrum, is on a mission to find out who murdered his neighbour’s dog, Sherlock Holmes’ style. While he has a gift for math, he has difficulty reading other people’s emotion and hates being touched.
His father finds it difficult to understand his needs. His mother did it all for him until she died suddenly and now they are left to fend for themselves. Did he find the murderer? What happened to his mother? Read the rest of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to know more.
Book review of the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
I rarely give books that I DNF-ed a second chance and I decided to read it because the Classics N Christie book club chose it as the BOTM. And I really wanted to know what happened in the book after I gave up and why everyone goes gaga over it.
Even though it plays the stereotypical high functioning autistic kid, this book helped me take a look at what happens inside the head of an autistic teen.
If I had to wonder what the difference was between the first time I read it and now, it is that I am more educated about the autistic spectrum, thanks to mainstream media and other books.
Things that worked for me
- While I found it hard to get into the first time I read it, I liked the non linear writing style now.
- I was genuinely surprised when the big reveal came up and I hadn’t guessed it at all.
- Christopher is a classic example of unreliable narrators, whom I love in general.
Things that didn’t work for me
Christopher falls straight into the holes of the stereotypes of autism in the mainstream media.
Bottom-line
I am glad I gave The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time a second chance and I wish that I liked it more. Sure I didn’t love it, but I didn’t dislike it as much I did the first time.
Similar books that you may like
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Romance |
What is the most recent that made you stay up all night reading it? Quite a few books have done that to me currently, and I am totally loving that. And The Hating Game by Sally Thorne is the latest book on that list. I know everyone on the blogosphere and their brother is loving this one and read on to know how that turned out for me.
About The Hating Game
Book Name: The Hating Game
Author: Sally Thorne
Genre: Fiction – Romance
Characters: Lucinda Hutton, Joshua Templeman
Setting: The United States of America
Plot Summary of The Hating Game
When two publishing houses that are entirely contrasting on their values merge their empolyees are forced to work together. Lucy Hutton despises Joshua Templeman and she is sure he is out to get her, just waiting for her slip up.
Things worsen when they set to compete against each other for a new post. While Lucy is well liked by the coworkers, even a pushover sometimes, Josh is feared and respected for his no nonsense attitude. Who would win the war and at what cost forms the rest of the story in The Hating Game.
Book review of The Hating Game
The Hating Game is a classic ‘hate to love’ story with fully etched characters that everyone will want to root for. In fact everyone I know loved this book and let me be honest, my reactions were lukewarm at the best. How many times does one have to read about how short she was and how athletic his body was before one can roll their eyes?
Do not get me wrong, The Hating Game has everything needed for a romance novel – sassy females, hot guy, witty dialogues and a lot of angst and frustration, all of which I totally enjoyed and liked. But at some point, Lucy started annoying me with her choices and assumptions.
Things that worked for me
- I loved the writing filled with witty banter between Lucy and Josh.
- I am always game for a book set in the publishing world (though it was not of any consequence here)
Things that didn’t work for me
- I like the ‘hate to love’ trope but The Hating Game left me wishing for more ‘hatred’. It was more of misunderstanding between them or being irksome rather than hatred.
- I wish Lucy had a bit more to her than – work and ‘hating Josh’. She literally has no friends and has been avoiding visiting her parents.
Bottom-line
If you are in the mood for an unoriginal romance that involves hate to love trope, you should pick The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I didn’t love it, but you might.
Similar reviews you might like
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Romance |
I just realized it has been a while since I reviewed a romance book and I am here today to rectify that situation. I picked up A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi with a similar motive.
That and the fact that about three billion of fellow book bloggers and bookstagrammers decided to fall in love with this book. So let us see how this works out right?
About the book
Book Name: A Very Large Expanse of Sea
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Genre: Fiction – Romance, YA
Characters: Shirin, Navid, Ocean James
Setting: The United States of America
The plot
Set in the year immediately following the 9/11, Shirin is a sixteen year old who got caught among the fear, prejudice and consequent Islamophobia prevalent in the general society in the USA.
She is used to her father’s frequent job transfers and having to switch schools, meet new people often but she is also used to the cold stares, racists comments and some times even physical violence. She accepts that as a part of her life, a consequence of her religion and her hijab that she choose to wear.
Shirin didn’t expect anything different at her new school. When her brother Navid decides to start a break dancing troop her life suddenly wasn’t that bad anymore.
Then she met Ocean James, the school’s golden boy, who wants to befriend her even when she tries to push him away. What was worse is she seems to like him as well. Can these two get a normal high school life when the whole world is spewing hatred at her? Read A Very Large Expanse of Sea to know more.
My initial thoughts
Once I picked this book, I stayed up to 3 AM to finish it because I didn’t wanna set it down. The cute romance was so adorable that I wanted them to have a positive ending. I hated those who hated them and wanted to harm them. They were so good together, you know?
I loved Navid, his friends and Shirin’s parents. Seeing an Iranian Muslim family that had to navigate in the post 9/11 USA was heartbreaking and this being an #ownvoice story, made me wonder how many more were still under pressure because of their beliefs and religion.
But at the end of the day it is a Young Adult romance, diverse representation is only a part of it. So do not pick the book with the hopes of getting more than that.
Things that worked for me
- I loved the Romance and the leads were adorable.
- The representation was on point and the characters were fully developed
- I heard this is not Tahereh Mafi’s usual style of writing, but I liked it anyway.
Things that didn’t work for me
I loved their parents but they were around for just a few scenes, I wish there were more.
Bottom-line
I loved reading A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi. I will continue reading Tahereh Mafi’s other series. If you are looking for a Young Adult romance with a Muslim representation then A Very Large Expanse of Sea should be your pick.
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