sneha
I read this because my cousin loves this book. it started off very “cute coming of age puppy love” vibe. which is adorable and expected from a book for young audience. but then, it doesn't grow from there. it tries to cram seriou topics and trauma for ... growth? but in a way that makes it forced not natural.
plus, I hated the secondary characters. they were one dimensional and felt very “yaass queen” or “yaah broo”. we could do better. I spiralled into a wattpaddy book, esp in second half and I just wanted more from it.
3.5
the first half was really fun and interesting (the ramblings of Miranda's dad was a little weird tho but still charming in its own way)
it's when they tried to force the Elio and Oliver narrative the book felt like it was dragging.
Andre Aciman, in an event said that he didn't want to write for fans but for himself. Oddly the second half feels like a fan service. w/o giving away spoilers, how is it true to the personality and characteristics of Elio and Oli from the first book? I would have been happy if instead of a sequel it was just a spin-off.
Nonetheless, occasionally I was just wowoed by the proses.
what a comprehensive, well researched and well written book this it. the kind you will revisit and reread multiple time and work through all the activities. perfect pick when you want to re-enter the dating pool and do it right. the central message of intentional love and intentional dating is just :*
... I feel very conflicted by this book
update: ok, it's been 24 hours since I finished the book. so I gathered my thought on why this book annoyed me. in the beginning, I thought it would be a satirical take on society and its expectation for everyone to be “normal” through the eyes of a character that doesn't fit that label. but as the book goes on, this clearly seems to not be the case. Instead, it loses its footing by making “society” (all characters, not Keiko) look like some evil cartoon villain of conformity and the one character who does spend a lot of time with Keiko does not even actual her being a “human”. the fact that neither the character throws light on their environment and people in it, nor does that gaze turn around the otherwise and critique her makes the whole damn book very – pointless. It felt like a waste of time because I spent a short duration with the characters and their stories, only for them to not matter. If this is a larger nihilism-adjacent take the book was going on, then perhaps it succeeded but otherwise, it felt hollow, sad and pointless.
review from the night i finished the book:
the protagonist clearly needs some help, but literally, every other character feels like a caricature. I understand that the idea is to present that society demands conformity, but that doesn't really get through. it feels that everyone is an evil meddling asshole which really isn't an accurate or even remotely true reflection. plus, the male character's arc is non existent with just unhinged incel chats.
I find a weird form of character arc for Keiko with her “accepting” her job and realising that's her calling despite the external criticism, but if that was the end point, why not make the journey better?
there are elements of trauma that is dealt in a passing. the whole “relationship” was super abusive but was made to look like it was nothing?
I understand problematic characters, but a problematic gaze? that won't work for me. it's just a really “why this” book. unsure about the hype.
okay so hear me out, there were five or six illustration that made me stop and stare at its calming beauty.
but the rest, even for a coffee table kids book type, it was very poorly written. cliché upon cliché, just not my vibe really. it felt very deep fake. you only need to look at Shel Silverstein to see how simple lovely books with great message for young and old can be written. this felt very instagrammy in the worst way.
BUT I was gifted this copy and it has lovely personal notes scribbled in the front so I'll cherish this book, if not it's story and characters.
Heard this on audible. The performance by Radhika Apte and Kalki Koechlin made it engaging and fast-paced.
The bad:
I do not understand the obsession with legitimising criminals and celebrating them as some kind of girl boss. Yes, they were women to “achieved” things in a male-dominated industry. But the industry itself is awful so maybe rethink this approach?
The good
A lot of new stories about women in the shadows and shady parts of Mumbai. A chill, true-crimey casual listen, but the male gaze in this book kept annoying me.
Mixed feeling but regardless, worth a listen.
It took a really long time to finish this one but I was thoroughly enjoying it.
Apart from the chapter on tennis and Olympics, it mostly covered “American” sports and several arguments and information were very America focused. Not a critique but an observation. I wish they were able to tackle or mention some highly popular events that aligned with the chapter themes from other parts of the world. The sports discussed were also mostly American so I did feel a little alienated in parts but also learnt a lot of new things.
This book is thoroughly-researched and well-written. I consumed it as an audiobook and found myself bookmarking some really cool observations. Overall, the tone was positive and bits about the group psychology of sports were my favourite.
