|| IF Book Club : The Next Chapter # 2 || - Page 33

The Maidens

This review will contain SPOILERS.

thing(s) i liked:

- Short chapters

things i didn't like:

- Dumb and one dimensional characterization of the protagonist

For example, if she was so sure fosca was the murderer, why would she go to his house alone to have dinner that too without informing anyone where she was going. When she gets to know the identity of the murderer, she follows them too into a deserted location.

- Mariana doesn't have any reason to believe what she believes other than fosca is a creep but literally every single man in this book is a creep so it doesn't even make sense!!

- Incompetent detective team who doesn't follow the clues and can't be bothered to listen to anybody. Mariana constantly tramples all over the case. I found it very difficult to take anything seriously, no stakes at all.

I could go on about why I hated this book. There are so many more reasons. I don't think this author is for me as I had dnf'ed the silent patient too.

The last few days have been hectic and that’s the reason I have been MIA. This place used to be a lot more lively when Shanam was around, I hope she is doing okay.

I finished reading both, The Maidens and A Thousand Splendid Suns and I liked both.

Review of The Maidens

For me, when it comes to thrillers, the characters don’t really matter as long as the plot is fast paced and makes some sense. The characters in this book fit the story to a large extent, but would have failed in a character driven story since quite a few things which the characters did not fit their original characterizations.

Like Shreya mentioned, in a thriller, short chapters are an advantage and make the book fast paced and easier to be done with. The initial premise of the book was interesting and kept me hooked despite some of the inconsistencies of the characters. A lot of the Greek mythology woven into the story went over my head since I have close to zero knowledge about it but it did get me into wanting to pick up books like The Song of Achilles.

The end of the book seemed a bit of stretch and was added for the shock value rather than to make sense. Bringing in characters The Silent Patient also made no sense.
The book did for me what I hoped it would - give me a fast paced read that made at least some sense and get me out of a reading slump.

Do I see myself re reading it at any point in the future - NO, and I am glad that I did not buy a physical copy of the book despite it being on a huge discount on Amazon.

I gave it a 3.75 stars which is mainly for being the sort of read I needed at that point.

For the month of October, I have again selected 2 books and you can read either one or both, if they appeal to you.

The first book for the month of October is -

Link: https://library.lol/fiction/C66422397C40F79783858250D5EB89FF

Genre: horror, mystery thriller

The second pick for October is -

Link: https://library.lol/fiction/030F2E69D6292D2442836AD510719D4D

Genre: contemporary, literary fiction, romance

why have we started doing 2 books every month now

A Thousand Splendid Suns review

I kept putting off reading this book for ages. Having read Khaled Hosseini’s other two books, I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy read.

ATSS is mainly about Mariam and Laila who come from different backgrounds leading very different lives but circumstances force them to end up having to undergo the same drudgery as wives of a much older, cruel man Rashid.

Spanning over three decades, from the invasion of Russia to the takeover by the Taliban; this book is an insight into the suffering the Afghans had to face, especially the women. It is heart wrenching to know that this has started all over again in Afghanistan with the Taliban taking over. The plight of the women in the book breaks your heart and infuriates you at the same time.

The best part of the book are the characters, be it Mariam or Laila or even the despicable Rashid. All were very well written but my heart went out to Mariam. Her struggles, her suffering and her feeling of being unloved hit home. The struggles of what the people of Afghanistan faced (even though fictional) was an eye opener. Books like these jars one’s self of comfort to realise that there are basic, regular privileges that we have that is an unattainable dream for women in a lot of other countries.

The friendship between the two women was nice to read about but felt a little convenient. Same with the ending of the book, it was convenient and wrapped with a neat bow that seemed to be a bit unfitting for a book like this.

I liked this book but I preferred Hosseini’s other books a little more. I can’t really pinpoint what didn’t work for me, but something felt missing in this book. I gave this 3.75 to 4 stars. It’s a book that will stay with me for a while.

Originally posted by: evilxbalaa

why have we started doing 2 books every month now

You can pick either one of the books that appeals to you, as was the case last month.

The idea is to give an option between a genre that most of us in any case gravitate towards and a genre we don’t usually read.

It is something based off what Diya recommended - concentrate more on the 5-6 genres that most of us like. I added to that by putting an option for a genre that most of us don’t usually pick up. Last month it was historical fiction and this month it is horror.

Originally posted by: Anam...

You can pick either one of the books that appeals to you, as was the case last month.

The idea is to give an option between a genre that most of us in any case gravitate towards and a genre we don’t usually read.

It is something based off what Diya recommended - concentrate more on the 5-6 genres that most of us like. I added to that by putting an option for a genre that most of us don’t usually pick up. Last month it was historical fiction and this month it is horror.

Well I just dont see the point of having a book club then. Theres only 2 or 3 people even reading, and if they are gonna be reading different books then whats the point? They can choose a book themselves instead rather than picking from the choices given to them.

I liked it the way it was before.

Giving two books sometimes is okay, but every month is too much and puts me off from reading both of them.