March was a crazy busy month wherein I hosted a readathon that consisted of reading books by female authors only and hosted a number of giveaways celebrating some excellent women writers. Reading wise, the month has been diverse and I must say, almost all of my reads were wonderful.
Wrapping up the month with the below short reviews of my March reads :
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Celebrated Murderess, Grace Marks, is prosecuted and has to live a full of penance behind the bars. Atwood has once again done a brilliant job in portraying a woman who is subjected to oppression in the hands of the prison authority and drastic misunderstanding by the narrow minded society.
Get it here.
The Windfall by Diksha Basu
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Since I was knee deep reading about serious topics followed by a book that was full of darkness, I thought of picking this one up and I wasn’t disappointed at all.
The Jhas come into a huge fortune suddenly and they have a drastic lifestyle change. They relocate from East Delhi to a large bungalow in Gurgaon and have to now keep up with their expensive lifestyle. What follows is a hilarious series of events.
The author takes a dig at the hypocrisy of the upper middle class society and the uber rich folks and represents a part of India in a very honest way.
Diksha Basu has done a brilliant job in creating this family saga and you can definitely give it a try.
Get it here.
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
⭐⭐⭐⭐
What I happened to love about this book is the plot of the book and that made my heart weep. How young men and women through time immemorial have been brainwashed into doing things that they shouldn’t be doing, things like terrorising human lives! And how politicians have not been able to deal with the issues head on, instead of targeting the real culprits, have ended up destroying lives of innocent migrants who were suspected from the moment they step on to the soil of a foreign land on accounts of being outsiders.
What I failed to really enjoy was Kamila Shamsie’s writing style and language. There is nothing wrong or absurd about it but nothing particularly remarkable either. I was hoping to be swept off my feet by her words. However that was not to be the case. And weirdly enough, I was reminded of an author who could have dealt something of this sort in a more powerful way. Arundhati Roy.
Nevertheless you must pick this book up to be acquainted with the harsh realities that many migrants have to face and terrorism creeping through the generations.
Get it here.
I See You by Clare Mackintosh
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Clare Mackintosh has become one of my favourite crime fiction writers ever since I finished I See You. Strong female fictional characters, delving into the depths of crimes against women, what is there not to love about her books.
Get it here.
Wonder Woman : Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Leigh Bardugo does the impossible task of increasing my love for this iconic comic character. She makes me fall in love with Themyscira all over again and brings alive the spirit of the Amazons in the brittle mortal world.
What I admire about the book :-
-Celebrating female friendships
-Making this book as much about Alia, the Warbringer as about Diana Prince. The characters in the story are all given such equal emphasis. You can identify yourself with either the fierce, fat, gay Indian kid or the Brazilian nerd who relaxes when no one’s around or the young black girl who is a genius yet constantly judged because of the colour of her skin.
-Classic Bardugo writing style that makes you laugh, forget all worries and stick your head on the pillow and relax.
However, a few of plot twists felt a little predictable and somehow failed to deliver the punch.
Yet I am really glad there is a chance of more books coming up thanks to the open-ended writing. I can’t wait to get to see Diana through Bardugo’s eyes.
Get it here.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Seldom do we come across books that tackle mental health issues with complete dignity and knowledge that they deserve. Honeyman’s debut does it remarkably well and has grown to become a favourite contender from the longlist of Women’s Prize 2018.
Get it here.
Brave by Rose McGowan
⭐⭐⭐
I gave it a 3star. The 3stars I have given it are for the fact that it is a memoir and I am very empathetic towards all the disgusting things that have happened to her and for writing a tell-all book. But from a purely reader and feminist point of view, I think the book is very badly written, with one-sided opinions that are mostly immature. She has very lopsided and whimsical viewpoints and doesn’t stick to what she says. I kind of zoned out by the end. I just couldn’t take all the silly brand promotion she was doing.
I would recommend this book only for one reason i.e. Rose McGowan exposes a part of Hollywood that we mostly tend to overlook. Also the trauma she has been through is terrible and the parts where she talks about Weinstein and Rodriguez is what made me sit back and take notice of the story. Other than that I kind of was very bored with her monotonous complaining.
Get it here.
The Liquid Sunset 