Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

10 reviews

spicycronereads's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a really cute read. It inverts some of the plot of Austen‘s pride and prejudice. For example, the FMC Trisha is a neurosurgeon from a family with generational wealth and privilege, while the MMC DJ is a talented but struggling chef. Dev takes necessary liberties with Austen’s plot line to update it and make it work for these characters and the 21st century racial and class contexts of Silicon Valley. Even so, the book has all of the personality clashes, the pining, and the villainous characters of the source text. And it all works really well together. I think as long as you go into it expecting a remix rather than a faithful adaptation, you’ll enjoy it just fine.

Be sure to check your trigger warnings though. The scandals have been updated for the 21st century and some may find the material difficult. There are multiple instances of SA (all off page) as well as a scary encounter with the police, among other things. 

The secondary characters are well developed and a lot of fun. Not surprising given that this is the first book in a series about Trisha’s family. All of the books are based on Austen’s works.

There isn’t really any spice. And similar to Austen‘s narrative, this is a slow burn that really takes a while to heat up. Once it gets there, there are lots of great quotes and sweet moments. I give it two swoony hearts.💖💖

The novel has lots of racial and class diversity. Trisha is a first generation Indian American. Her mother was a Bollywood movie star and her father was royalty in the province that they come from in India. DJ and his sister Emma are part Indian, part English, and part Rwandan. There are very few white characters in the novel. So far there don’t seem to be any queer characters. But there are characters dealing with long-term illness and disability. Trisha is written in such a way that there are hints that she may be neurodivergent or maybe she just has some of those necessary characteristics of being a neurosurgeon. The ambiguity works.

Overall, I found this to be a fun and engaging read, and I really liked it. I will definitely read others in the series and look forward to how Sonali Dev adapts more of Austen‘s work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 💖💖
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heather667's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bookswithbront's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I thought this book was going to be a lighthearted rom com with some cheesy Pride and Prejudice references, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Somali Dev’s writing is gorgeous, the characters were fascinating, and I’m already so invested in the Raje family after just one book. At times, however, I did really struggle with this book. It did a great job and addressing certain complex topics like intersectional identities, class, and trauma, but I also felt like it yada yada’d some of the biggest issues its characters dealt with. Throughout the whole story, DJ’s biggest grievance with Trisha is that she said she wouldn’t be interested in a member of “the hired help,” something that is borderline unforgivable and that she never really apologizes for. Trisha and DJ both apologize for certain things, but the book acts as though the hurtful things they said to each other were equal, and I don’t think that’s the case at all. The book also made a bit of a straw man of the very complex issues of disability, the right-to-die movement, etc. While Emma’s case was unique, no one else acknowledged the validity of some of her perspective, treating it like a temper tantrum that needed to be resolved. However, I didn’t feel that Dev was pushing any sort of agenda on either of these complex topics, which would be difficult to address at a deeper level in a book like this. And though I was so frustrated by Trisha’s character, I’m hoping that’s a one-off, and I’m excited to read the rest of the Raje family series! 
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saukittome's review against another edition

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3.0

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chelsearosales's review against another edition

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emotional funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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laurennbrackbill's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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internationalreads's review against another edition

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adventurous informative lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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shams96's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The book is very slow, but the characters are interesting and that’s what kept me from marking it as a DNF. Let me note that I have never read or seen Pride & Prejudice in any form, so I have no idea how this would compare.

 Trisha was annoyingly entitled at points and guarded even from a reader’s standpoint. Having so many different family members that Trisha interacted with is what gave the story character. 
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smithy361's review against another edition

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funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"This is how Trisha's dating life had worked since college: every now and again some guy came along and they confused the heck out of each other until he disappeared, leaving her more relieved than sad, and embarrassed as hell about her inability to know what was going on when it came to men. Why were men such complicated beasts anyway? Relationships felt like full-time babysitting jobs crossed with high-level code cracking."
 
This is one of the most emotionally accurate Pride & Prejudice retellings I've had the joy of reading. It's gender-bent, it's contemporary, the name "Wickham" makes me want to punch people, and the characters' personal growth was astoundingly beautiful while also stressful in the moment. I loved Dr. Trisha Raje as our Darcy character. Her arrogance is perfectly off-putting from both a real world and Pride & Prejudice frame of reference. Meanwhile, DJ is a saucy take on Lizzy Bennet with his big heart and straight-backed pride.
 
The story went beyond the original by weaving in new elements to reflect modern life and a far more diverse (in all senses of the word) cast than we see in an Austen novel. It builds on Austen's commentary on wealth and social class by turning a sharper eye on sexism and bringing in conversation about immigration, racism, and police brutality.
 
Dev builds a world that feels lifelike not only because she includes so many aspects of our brutal world but because she renders each individual character with such loving detail. Backstory for both families is deep and moving, and it made me want to read more, whether it was about the past or the future of any side character.
 
Finally, the story is powerful because of the messaging. It talks about the bonds of family and all that can be left unsaid in our long histories together, the pain and the love. And it reminds us that our work doesn't define us. We matter outside our professional accomplishments and what we can do for others (yeah, that part led to some tears on this end).
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