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By: WESTP 001
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2025-05-27 10:26:36 |
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Everyone said it was an excellent read - all loved how Sahota wrote so beautifully. |
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By: KURO 001
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2025-05-21 13:22:35 |
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Made us think about how lucky we are and how hard it is for some to settle into a 'new' community. |
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By: TIMAR 008
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2025-04-03 11:35:07 |
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Great discussion on arranged marriages. |
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By: LOWER 026
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2025-03-13 09:51:40 |
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Enjoyed by the majority of the group. Created much discussion. Easy to read. |
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By: ROTO 012
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2024-08-28 14:24:35 |
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Many of us found it a challenging and disturbing read. Others thought it was an insightful read into Indian culture in the1920s. The two parts of the story, past and present, lacked connection for us. |
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By: CHCH 553
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2024-08-06 13:22:26 |
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An interesting read about a very different culture, some good conversations around the various characters and what life must have been like for these characters. |
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By: HUNTLY 001
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2024-07-18 11:46:03 |
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Well-written, and none of us were aware of the weird custom at the centre of the plot. Fascinating. |
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By: WHAKA 017
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2024-06-10 10:09:59 |
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Overall our group found this book very informative and interesting. Some didn't enjoy having to flick through the two storylines but most found it brought the book together very well. We didn't like the mother-in-law and wondered whether it was normal at that time for women not to know their husbands even in an arranged marriage. |
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By: CROMW 005
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2024-04-18 10:02:02 |
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Pretty horrific, but pleased to have read it. |
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By: WHITBY 002
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2024-04-12 14:54:26 |
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Mixed opinions from the group - what seemed like a promising story fell short in the telling. It was interesting learning about another culture but shocking at the way women were treated. The ending seem to arrive too quickly and we felt we were missing a lot of detail. |
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By: KURO 002
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2024-01-17 11:39:07 |
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We found the book seemed to be jumping from character to character too much! |
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By: WELL 045
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2024-01-15 11:28:28 |
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We all really enjoyed 'China Room'. A fascinating look at a different culture, as well as eras. |
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By: AUCK 399
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2023-10-16 10:16:43 |
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Most members found the storyline unbelievable - the 3 women didn't know which brother was their husband and vice versa. Quite well-written with two storylines/ generations. |
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By: TEKAPO 001
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2023-09-29 13:35:54 |
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An OK story, but some questions were not answered and the ending was a bit lame. |
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By: DUNED 118
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2023-09-29 11:57:32 |
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Varied opinions, some enjoyed the book but others very disappointed in the way women were treated in Indian culture. Moving away from India didn't necessarily improve people's lives. |
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By: HAVE 016
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2023-09-29 11:55:38 |
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Group felt the book was clearly written by a man - not understanding women. The two strands of the story didn't work. |
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By: GORE 001
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2023-09-11 13:01:49 |
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Most group members felt that the two stories in one didn't work so well in this book - not enough detail in each to encourage engagement with the characters. A sad, sad tale of Mehar and her "sisters" - and this appears to continue to this day in some areas. We couldn't figure out Mai's behaviour! |
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By: TAUR 036
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2023-08-10 12:30:32 |
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This book was top of our list but we all thought it was badly written. A really interesting topic, and having lived in India myself, I am very aware of the arranged marriages which are still very prevalent today. |
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By: DUNED 118
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2023-07-14 12:21:34 |
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Varied opinions on how much the book was enjoyed. Possibly the ending was a little rushed. Discussion mainly about the role of women in Indian society and the matriarchal role of the boys' mother. |
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By: ROTO 006
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2023-06-14 13:45:27 |
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A light quick book to read but one that encouraged an active discussion on women's rights in the last couple of generations, especially in what we label a 3rd world country. |
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By: MORRI 001
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2023-05-22 10:20:00 |
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Most enjoyed the book. Some found the story sad, despite it being a fictionalised version of the story. Good discussion on arranged marriages, traditions, patriarchal society, and the status of women. |
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By: AUCK 293
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2023-05-17 13:05:03 |
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This story certainly made us feel glad to be brought up in N.Z. We discussed the pros and cons of arranged marriages. The book was set in three different time frames which made it confusing for some. Overall a good read. |
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By: GISB 001
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2023-05-01 11:57:15 |
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We mostly enjoyed the story. All enjoyed the writing. |
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By: FEILD 001
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2023-03-20 14:32:26 |
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We all enjoyed the book very much - it was complex and some read it twice. There is a lot of intriguing ambiguity which makes it a gripping story. The two different but related stories gave us a fascinating comparison between two different times and countries during such turbulent political times for Indian people. |
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By: OMAR 001
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2023-03-16 13:28:06 |
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Most enjoyed the book. Well-written. |
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By: WANAK 010
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2023-03-04 22:21:23 |
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Most of our group enjoyed this book. The two stories intertwined stretching across time. An insight into life where arranged marriages were the norm in a patriarchal society and yet it was the mother-in-law who controlled her sons and allocated tasks to their wives. So many themes for discussion - addiction, rejection, love, racism, treatment of women. |
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By: PALMN 004
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2023-01-12 11:23:03 |
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An easy read, but also really hard to fathom why women are treated so badly. We learnt a lot from this book. |
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By: NEWP 018
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2022-09-05 12:41:55 |
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We felt that this could have been two separate books, the old story and the recent story. As the change between eras was hard to distinguish, it would have been good to have a 'wrap up' at the end, to show how it all fitted together. |
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By: TAUR 023
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2022-08-22 14:58:54 |
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This book was rather difficult for our members to enjoy, but an honest story of another society. |
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