duskk_novels's reviews
50 reviews

They walk through our world unseen, unheard, unnoticed. Yet, they are woven into the fabric of our lives and exist as the beating heart of our existence. This is the riveting, yet soul-splitting story of Nisha Jayakody, a Sri Lankan domestic worker in Cyprus. Through the perspectives of Petra and Yiannis, we unearth the layers of Nisha's mysterious character and life, including the loss of her sister, husband and making the decision to leave her only living child in Sri Lanka. The harrowing events that shaped her existence exposes the traumatic realities and the severe abuse endured by foreign domestic workers by employers. This is the tale of a mother's unyielding and indestructible love for her child and the worlds she is forced to live in-between. This is the story of one woman, and at the same time, lived by millions of foreign women across oceans and mountains. 

A simply-written novel intertwined with poetic, yet powerful prose that unveils the brutal fates imposed upon foreign maids as the price to pay for their family's survival. Before reading this, I was ignorant to the abuse they experience and the hidden torment they sustain, all to ensure their families back home are cared for. Although fictional, the cruelty depicted reflects real-world horrors and the chain of events that ensued was paralysing. My favourite element was the contrasting imagery and the magnetic personalities of the characters that enhanced the narrative beautifully and intensified the lessons it conveyed. It was these literary devices, especially imagery and symbolism, that left me with enduring emotions. The vivid imagery and metaphoric use of animals and colour symbolism were my favourite aspects, alongside Nisha and Yiannis being two of the kindest souls I have met in a fictional world. 

The only reason this did not get 5 stars is because the ending was rushed. Whilst I appreciate mystery and ambiguity, the intense build-up of the story warranted more closure and felt like a significant part of the story was missing, undermining the theme of educating readers about the mistreatment of foreign workers. However, the unforgettable feelings I had outweighed this, and songbirds stands as one of the most soul-awakening novels I have read in my life.  

I won't bother summarising the plot of this book and making it sound captivating because it does not deserve that credit from me. How can I put into words my perpetual fury and disappointment of this book especially one written by one of my favourite writers?
 
Let's just get straight to it. The point of a murder mystery is to devise a series of events in which intrigue develops and thickens as the plot unfolds. Why go through achingly long hours of writing, build-up, and research to construct an enthralling story with mysterious characters in which there is no murderer but in fact, SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT, God is the murderer? 
 
A revolting element of this was the cruel misrepresentation of Muslims and women. Why would you make the only Muslim character in your book non-practising (which added nothing to the story) and even suggesting that Muslim women are oppressed by Islam? I am nauseated to think that you spent hours researching and did not even bother looking at Islam's principles on the treatment of women. You included at the end of your book, two complete pages of biblical quotes and Christian scriptures that you selected yourself, but could not bother educating your ignorant mind about what Islam says about women and their respected status among humankind. Instead you decide that including Islamophobia was the better option for your work. Additionally what was the purpose of the oversexualisation of women in your story ? What did that add ? Not only was that extremely unconformable but I realised that your intention was to objectify women and portray them in a sickeningly sexual light. As a Muslim woman, I am disgusted that I ever called you one of my favourite writers and am baffled as to how you have written amazing pieces of work and then spat out this?
 
Another reason why you might want to avoid this because it is severely anti-God and anti-Christ. The main character slanders the name of God in Christian context. And you might think oh you mean atheism? No, I mean anti-God as in the character believes in God because he believes God to be a hateful evil divinity. Religion is one of my favourite areas to read about, especially Islam and Christianity and I was excited to see how the writer would integrate religion into a murder mystery. It was promising then became abhorrent, to the degree where it became anti-God/Christ. And that was his purpose because his Author's note explained his detestation for God, representing him as pure malevolent evil. I am not saying that a book cannot contain atheism or a character with differing views about God as our world holds real people like this, some who even have a dislike towards God. And I believe that a qualified writer would place a character's fear of God or even their hatred into the correct words that did not border malevolence and defamation
 
I will not bother commenting on the enjoyable aspects of this because I think the elements explained above diminishes all amusement found in this. I'm sorry if I come across dramatic or oversensitive but I guarantee you will agree with every word of my passionate hatred if you read this. What a disheartening waste of potential this was
 
PS: there was some unfiltered 0ral seggs scenes which eradicated any innocence I had left. Can someone pay for my therapy please ? x

'There’s more to a book than just the words on the page.. '

1944, and the bleeding streets of France have become a place where even the angels cry. Man’s inhumanity against man has left a wounded country, picked open its scars and left its people piling up on the roadside. Railway worker Jean-Luc is torn between working under the Nazis and saving his country from them. So when the day comes where he silently sabotages the train tracks heading to Auschwitz, he sees for the first time the tormented emaciated souls of the last remaining Jews of France, pouring out from the cattle wagons. As Sarah Lafitte stumbles out of the bursting wagon, she holds her new-born baby close like an anchor against the endless sea of prisoners. A month old and already the love she bears him could split the skies open. So it guts her to her core because she loves him too much to hold on, and she pushes her baby into the arms of the railway worker standing in the middle of the sea like a lighthouse. ‘Take my baby!’ she screams. She knows so fragile a life could never survive the hell-ravaged grounds of Auschwitz 

Through a heart-wrenching series of events, we watch how Jean-Luc and his wife Charlotte scale forbidden territories and walk through oceans to save the little miracle of life nested in their hands. Through multiple narratives, we unearth the deep, painful reality of human sacrifice and the moral and ethical dilemmas that come with surviving war. We focus on cultural identities, where they stop and start, and unravel the layers to the meaning of ‘home’ – who or what is ‘home?’ 

Jean-Luc and Sarah were outstanding, admirable characters who embodied different versions of love and sacrifice. It was fascinating and achingly beautiful reading the opposing POVS and understanding the  undying love they had for the child, one who carried him and one who raised him. However, the prose was unbearably poor and at times, triggering. The wording and narrative style was underwhelming with a depressing lack of depth, emotion and rushed tones especially for such a tragic plotline. Charlotte’s POV was the ABSOLUTE WORST! I didn’t pick a deeply moving novel to read the POV of a vain, shallow, overgrown child who did not seem to change as the character aged. Additionally, the chapters centring on Jean-Luc and Charlotte’s relationship were cringing with an annoying lack of action at the start. The book wasted so much potential and I only recommend solely for its series of events and nothing more. Unfortunately I was let down by this one 

I'm sorry Ruth Druart xx

PS : I want to see how Jennifer Saint would write this. Now there's a writer who knows how to build emotion and imagery using words