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A review by onejadyn
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
4.0
For some reason, while reading this book I lost interest at about 35% through and ended up failing to pick it up for over a week.
I couldn't explain why, since I loved the setting and I loved reading about the protagonist—a former renowned smuggler turned family-driven mother who still had a taste for the sea. I wanted to love it, but for whatever reason I just wasn't picking it up and my library time was ticking.
I returned it to the library hoping I'd want to pick it up again.
Not a couple weeks later, I got an opportunity to take it out of the library once again and wow. I'm invested once again.
I'm not sure what caused my lapse—it may have just been personal stresses—but I'm so glad I picked it back up. They set to sea and have landed on the island they're looking for—and everything is so eerie and unsettling in such a subtle way. Finally we have a reveal of a character I desperately want to know more about and let's just say I wish I could skip work today and keep reading.
-
So I finished it. Quickly. It's insane how much this turned around. From the time of my last review, I was just flipping pages until it was over with no reprieve. I was so invested and excited for the grand journey of Amina al-Sirafi and did not disappoint.
Honestly, it was just fun. Amina al-Sirafi is a mother and an adventurer, once retired but still in love with the see. Reading through her journeys, you can't help but root for her and empathise with her. She's got slippery morals but lines she won't cross. The adventure was fun and palpable, but real, with real stakes and fears, and it was just exciting. I don't know if I'd call this book profound or life-changing, but I will say I just enjoyed it mightily.
I couldn't explain why, since I loved the setting and I loved reading about the protagonist—a former renowned smuggler turned family-driven mother who still had a taste for the sea. I wanted to love it, but for whatever reason I just wasn't picking it up and my library time was ticking.
I returned it to the library hoping I'd want to pick it up again.
Not a couple weeks later, I got an opportunity to take it out of the library once again and wow. I'm invested once again.
I'm not sure what caused my lapse—it may have just been personal stresses—but I'm so glad I picked it back up. They set to sea and have landed on the island they're looking for—and everything is so eerie and unsettling in such a subtle way. Finally we have a reveal of a character I desperately want to know more about and let's just say I wish I could skip work today and keep reading.
-
So I finished it. Quickly. It's insane how much this turned around. From the time of my last review, I was just flipping pages until it was over with no reprieve. I was so invested and excited for the grand journey of Amina al-Sirafi and did not disappoint.
Honestly, it was just fun. Amina al-Sirafi is a mother and an adventurer, once retired but still in love with the see. Reading through her journeys, you can't help but root for her and empathise with her. She's got slippery morals but lines she won't cross. The adventure was fun and palpable, but real, with real stakes and fears, and it was just exciting. I don't know if I'd call this book profound or life-changing, but I will say I just enjoyed it mightily.