Fiction
Verdict: Read it
I'm not a big believer in reading the back of the book too carefully to see what a novel is about. I'm more of an "Oooh shiny" about the cover type book picker. Meh. I like to take my chances and revel in amazing finds. And the occasional disappointment. Ahem.
I haven't read anything from Jerry Pinto as yet and so new authors (for me) are always exciting. I don't know what I was drawn to on the cover, but it wasn't what I expected it to be, and not in a bad way.
India has been opening up (at least in pop culture mediums) about many issues, mental health being one of them. I find this to be a fantastic thing - the more it's in the open, the less....judged it will become.
Em and the big Hoom is about a Goan Catholic family. A mom, a dad, a son, and a daughter. Only the mom is manic depressive and suicidal occasionally. There's no candy coating, no pretending everything is fine, no glossing over events. Just a family doing it's best to care for and support someone whose brain is not allowing her to function as most people do. It's a powerhouse of a novel.
Jerry Pinto explores family dynamics, the fine line between disease and personality, genetics, living with a parent who has these issues, and the burden any long term disease places on a family.
This definitely isn't a light, quick read. For someone who generally reads pretty fast, this one took me a a while as I felt I needed to digest the many themes in small chunks as to not get overwhelmed. While I was doing that, I really considered the privilege of the "peek in the window" and what it must be like to actually be in such a situation.
It's definitely a must read.
~Becky~
Verdict: Read it
I'm not a big believer in reading the back of the book too carefully to see what a novel is about. I'm more of an "Oooh shiny" about the cover type book picker. Meh. I like to take my chances and revel in amazing finds. And the occasional disappointment. Ahem.
I haven't read anything from Jerry Pinto as yet and so new authors (for me) are always exciting. I don't know what I was drawn to on the cover, but it wasn't what I expected it to be, and not in a bad way.
India has been opening up (at least in pop culture mediums) about many issues, mental health being one of them. I find this to be a fantastic thing - the more it's in the open, the less....judged it will become.
Em and the big Hoom is about a Goan Catholic family. A mom, a dad, a son, and a daughter. Only the mom is manic depressive and suicidal occasionally. There's no candy coating, no pretending everything is fine, no glossing over events. Just a family doing it's best to care for and support someone whose brain is not allowing her to function as most people do. It's a powerhouse of a novel.
Jerry Pinto explores family dynamics, the fine line between disease and personality, genetics, living with a parent who has these issues, and the burden any long term disease places on a family.
This definitely isn't a light, quick read. For someone who generally reads pretty fast, this one took me a a while as I felt I needed to digest the many themes in small chunks as to not get overwhelmed. While I was doing that, I really considered the privilege of the "peek in the window" and what it must be like to actually be in such a situation.
It's definitely a must read.
~Becky~
No comments:
Post a Comment