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Two 5⭐️ reads and two more that were very close! But the tagged book is in the running for my favorite book of the year. I feel it‘s a very important book.

5 ⭐️= Loved It, would recommend to others. A+
4 ⭐️= Liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3.5 ⭐️ = Close to either pick or so-so
3 ⭐️= Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2 ⭐️=Nope D
1 ⭐️=DNF F

Overall, 8.5 out of 10 stars! I love thick books that take time to develop the characters and storyline. It‘s not a book of intense action but of thought, conflict, character development and family.

The Malayi family lives with a condition that makes in each generation different members to die by drowning. We see their stories and the story of India as a background during the 1900s while they try to live with this condition and with the grief that sometimes causes. A wonderful book, so descriptive and interesting I had to stop to google some places. You can tell the author is a doctor because of how well the medicine is explained, and ⬇️

Souvenirs
#spice
#arichlife
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Somehow, this book manages to be both a really great story but also one that sets out to pose moral conundrums, almost guaranteeing readers will place themselves in the shoes of the guardian and the thief. BUT: which character is which? Aren‘t we all at times the guardian and others the thief. Or even in the same moment, depending on the perspective of who‘s being guarded/stolen from? Near future India, climate ravaged—the perfect setting. Great!

This book has one of those endings that I will be thinking about for a long time to come. It is BRUTAL!
In similar circumstances I‘m sure that everyone would behave in ways that don‘t always aline with our values when desperately trying to do what‘s best for our loved ones, trying to survive. This book highlights that there is good and bad in most people and a fine line between right and wrong. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I. Am. Gutted. …It is impossible for me to disparage any decision of Ma, Dadu, or Boomba because the world in the near future is so devoid of compassion for our neighbors. This is an important story.

In times of famine everyone with a family becomes a guardian and a thief. That‘s what this book shows the reader by setting a story in a near future India, where Ma is trying to get her father and daughter on a plane to the US while Boomba is trying to take care of his family. It‘s a sad and harsh read and it feels awfully plausible.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #33 #India

📸 Awaji Island, Japan

We‘re in dirt poor Kolkata, where we follow the parallel lives of Ma, her father and daughter who are trying to get to America to join her husband. And also Boomba, a thief who is trying to support himself and bring his family to him. This is a very tough read. Will Ma get to America? Will Boomba survive? A heart-wrenching slice of life of people constantly living on the verge. One can only imagine being this poor and hungry all the time.

65/100