China Room | 
panThis book was incredibly readable. About a woman‘s struggles in marriage in 1929 and her great grandsons recovery from addiction in 1999.
But was it about the woman? Or was it inadvertently about toxic masculinity in 1929 and 1999 into today?
Despite a central female character, this book is about the male characters and how they do not care about women except to “possess” them.
Thinking about it gets me annoyed.
pickI enjoyed this book, but I have some problems with it too. I wanted to know so much more about how Mehar and the rest of her life. She wanted so much from life, I can‘t imagine she spent it obediently. And then the approaching Partition, with all its consequences for Punjab. I‘d gladly exchange knowing more about this storyline for the one set in 2019. I didn‘t really see the point of that one...
So, a light pick!
#Booked2022 #AboutSisters
pickFlew through this short novel in a day. This centers on a 15 year old girl, newly married but due to religious custom, has no idea which of the young men in the house is *her* husband. The other story arc is about her great-grandson, visiting Punjab while detoxing from addiction. This was a compelling story, but the wanted more in the ending. Looking forward to our book club discussion!
pick22-28 Jul 22 #Booker longlist 13
Didn‘t finish before this year‘s announcement, but I did make it before this year‘s list started arriving.
I found this, set in Punjab in 1929 and in 1999, one of the most compelling. The writing was simple and the two primary characters - Mehar, the 15 yo sent off to an arranged marriage, and her young grandson, a recovering heroin addict - were interesting. The ending of Mehar‘s story was, however, unsatisfying.
It‘s different for women, isn‘t it? They have no choice where they go. They grow up in a prison and then get married into one.
so-soI really enjoyed this novel set between different time periods and the same family, but the ending didn‘t leave me satisfied. It felt like there was more to be said.
pickAfter this, one more left to complete last year‘s Booker longlist.
Strictly on its own, this novel is good. A little too MFA-ish, but it works. The drug-addict English kid visiting his Indian relatives is a nice touch. As a semi-autobiography/semi-family history it becomes a terrific look into Punjab, now on the Pakistani border, in the 1920‘s under British control; and a curious self-examination. A pick from me.
My next book. I‘m in Punjab at some unspecified date and a 15-yr-old girl doesn‘t know what her husband looks like. Her MIL tells her, ‘You don‘t need to know.”
(this will be my 12th from the 2021 Booker longlist)
pickLoved this 🎧1929 Punjab - Three girls picked for three brothers as child brides. The girls are unaware of which brother has been chosen for them as they are married under heavy veils, their husbands identities hidden. 1999 - a great grandson returns to the rural village seeking shelter and fresh beginnings. Audio narration was excellent & my view was wonderful 🏖
I read half of this book in one sitting. 😳 Time to go back for the other half before bed!
Lol, I tried to get a photo of my new books in front of this poster, and then I realized how reflective it was. This was a bit of a fail. Oh well. 🤣
The 2022 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction longlist! I've only read China Room, but I've had my eye on Learwife and The Magician for some time.
The full list:
* Blue Postcards
* Snow Country
* Rose Nicolson
* Mrs. England
* The Ballad of Lord Edward and Citizen Small
* The Sunken Road
* The Fortune Men
* News of the Dead
* China Room
* Fortune
* Learwife
* The Magician
* Still Life
pickI kind of loved this. Maybe more than some of the books that made the Booker short list. This was my IRL book club pick for January 2022. The audio is excellent.
#BookSpinBingo free space
@TheAromaofBooks
pickSo the scenario of a wife not knowing who she is bedding (or to whom she is betrothed!) seems more like material for a Shakespeare comedy than for a naturalistic historical novel set in early 20th century Punjab. But once you buy into this central premise, the characters & tension sweep you up. Two narratives, one first person of great-grandson in recovery, one 3rd person of Mehar & Suraj‘s doomed love story. Lovely, fluid, evocative prose. 2021
pickMy favorite book of the month so far! In 1920s India, teenage Mehar was wedded to one of 3 brothers, but due to custom, she couldn‘t look at him. The other 2 brothers married at the same time and the 3 wives speculated about their matches. In 1999, her great grandson has come to India from England to kick a heroin habit. He begins to fix up the farm where Mehar once lived. I felt these characters‘ fear, love, pity, & betrayal. Beautiful writing!
pickI enjoyed this but also am a bit disappointed. The core story apparently is inspired by the author actual family story, which is interesting - three young women married the 3 brothers but none of them know which is the husband.
I would have picked this as a favorite of the year if it had been only that story line and had expanded much more on it. But the interweaving of a modern day storyline was jarring and there wasn't the depth I needed.
Joining #anywayyoureadathon with @kimmypete1 @Eggbeater & @MidnightBookGirl
Hoping to get some hours in and some #scarathlon points built up for #TeamHendrix!
Hoping to complete 3 books, with a stretch goal of 4 starting with the tagged
#firstlinefriday @ShyBookOwl
"Mehar is not so obedient a fifteen-year-old that she won't try to uncover which of the three brothers is her husband."
pickOf the Booker titles I've read so far, this is the one I found hardest to put down. (It didn't make the shortlist.) Spirited girl-bride Mehar's story is staggering in its cruelty in the name of modesty and honour, and inevitable in its consequences. The 2nd narrative, of her great-grandson's recovery from addiction, was interesting, and shows the generational legacy of suffering, but felt under-developed and dare I say it, tacked on.
Keeping this tab open and refreshing as I eagerly await the announcement of the shortlist… #BookerPrize #shortlist
pickCompelling dual narrative set in India. The novel focuses on a young girl in 1929 and her great grandson in the 1990's. I found the story set in the 1920's far more compelling. I flew through the book but am not sure what it was saying with the dual narrative in the end. I will be suprised if it is on the Booker short list. 3.5 🌟
This is my reading situation on National Read A Book Day. Squeezing out the last bits of summer in northern Michigan, and getting immediately hooked to the tagged book. It‘s also a great reading companion to A Suitable Boy, my current chunkster read.
pickChina Room snuck up and captivated me much more than I expected it to. I‘ve seen lots of reviews that refer to this as a quiet novel, and I think I agree with this description. Sahota weaves the challenged lives of these two generations together in a compelling way. This is a novel about discrimination, difficult choices, isolation, and the deep frustration and sense of injustice when one feels in a life without self-determination.
I have been traveling for over a month. It was great fun but I am glad to be home. Here are the books that I picked up while in Chicago. My daughter and I went to 6 bookstores. Mostly back list but one new release.
so-soA slow-burn. Sahota is a beautiful writer, elegant and compassionate. I loved Year of the Runaways. This was too slow-moving & subtle for me. A girl in an arranged marriage with no agency or life of her own, & an addict withdrawing, is a quiet novel. I DNFed this but re-visited it today & found that the tension builds & characters assert themselves. It‘s tender, poignant & set against India striving for independence. Beguiling but too gentle.
pickA most beautiful novel of love & fate … cruelty & kindness. A young wife who only meets her husband in darkness , but who is he ?
It‘s read , and I‘ve found a lovely spot for it on my shelves, where I will remember it fondly , great storytelling ❤️💔
My great -grandmother, an old white-haired woman who‘d travelled all the way to England just so that she might hold me, her new-born great-grandson
… just so that she might hold me …
Dinner just gone on , (we‘re having pork chops & potatoes & carrots ) … starting a new book in the kitchen with a glass of wine .. on page 17 .. so far so good ..
And what a gorgeous cover , it‘s so lovely to look at ❤️
pickIn the 1920s Mehar is one of 3 girls married to 3 brothers, all on the same day. Sequestered away in the ‘China room‘ and only meeting her husband in the dark she tries to work out which brother is hers.
70 years later a teenager arrives in the same village, to tackle his demons head-on. (Trying not to give away spoilers!)
This was a gorgeous book; only short, but beautifully written and so evocative and atmospheric.
#bookerprizelonglist
My August BOTM. Still haven‘t read Migrations but I‘m fixing that in August. I expecting to love it as so many of you do and Once There Were Wolves sounds so good. China Room was one of a few on the Booker long list that caught my eye and Golden Hotel sounds like a fun summer read.
pickLoved. It. Jumping between 1929, and the story of a young bride trying to determine which of three brothers she married (something her domineering mother-in-law doesn‘t want her to know), and 1999, and the story of a young man trying to shake drug addiction, this book delves into family, history, resilience, racism, hope, belonging, and much more. It‘s really well-written and hard to put down. Highly recommended. On sale 7/13/21.
