“But anger wasn’t available to them, and there was no face to put on this Other Thing that they held in their sticky Other Hands, like an imaginary orange. There was nowhere to lay it down. It wasn’t theirs to give away. It would have to be held. Carefully and forever.”
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This was our September Reading Is Subjective club book! It was an incredibly challenging book, for so many reasons: the subject matter, the time skips, the number of characters, and circling the plot. 

I really didn’t understand the idea of Untouchables reading this book, it was such poignant imagery to think about a child holding something in the palm of his hand so people wouldn’t have to touch him. 

I found Estha to be a deeply, sympathetic character, and his connection to Rahel was beautiful  (even if it got a little odd at the end). These characters were so intriguing to me, and their own personal histories and motivations were really well established by Roy. 

I enjoyed the section about the storytellers and sacrifices they had to make of their ideals in order to survive, it felt so raw and real. I also loved Roy’s description of the slovenly/dirty house compared to Estha’s meticulously clean room. It conveyed so clearly how they were dealing with their demons and very different ways. 

I think it’s interesting to consider how one day can impact so many lives in such a permanent way. This was a great book and I really enjoyed seeing other peoples thoughts in the book club. 🥰