For the last entry of this week's Friday Reads I have an ARC of a book that I requested due to the Diversify Your Shelves campaign on Twitter, and that when I got approved for on its release day I wasn't sure when I'd fit in my reading schedule, but that ended up being a super fast read and a great discovery!
Thanks a lot to Penguin books for their approval via NetGalley! This one also counts towards my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge!
A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When I requested A Time To Dance on NetGalley I was doubting I would be approved, but I was really drawn to the cover (that beautiful and bridal looking saree!) and I was very intrigued about the story. India is a place I love and wanted to read more about the parts of it that I don't know. So I'm very thankful to Penguin for the approval!
I was a bit worried about it being told in verse, since this was my first foray into verse novels but I really shouldn't have. The narrative was magical but simple, enthralling and vivid and swept me along! I had expected reading verse would be slower but it this case I breezed through the book!
Veda is our main character and her story is one of growth, coming of age and triumph over many obstacles. She loves dancing over everything else, bharatanatyam being the ancient form of dance atributed to Shiva that she practices. But everything changes on the day of her bigger triumph to date, and she needs to learn to accept her new reality, to adapt to it, and to realize she doesn't necessarily have to give up on her dreams.
There are so many details that feel so Indian, that might be so shocking for other readers, and that might be questioned by others. But to me, that have been immersed in Indian culture for months on end for the last seven years, it all felt so genuine, so every day real... The characters and their relationships, the way the religion and the mysticism is explain and presented on the pages... that was fantastic. I'm in no way or shape a religious person but not only that aspect never bothered me, it also felt perfectly done and appropriate and fascinating to read.
There was a quote from the Bible in the book that even if it might be a bit surprising at first, given the religion primarily held in the book is Hindu, but so fitting for the theme of the book, I'll share a part of it:
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...
A wonderful discovery of a book and an author I will be watching for from now on. Very well deserved 4 stars.
View all my reviews
Thanks a lot to Penguin books for their approval via NetGalley! This one also counts towards my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge!
A Time to Dance by Padma VenkatramanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
When I requested A Time To Dance on NetGalley I was doubting I would be approved, but I was really drawn to the cover (that beautiful and bridal looking saree!) and I was very intrigued about the story. India is a place I love and wanted to read more about the parts of it that I don't know. So I'm very thankful to Penguin for the approval!
I was a bit worried about it being told in verse, since this was my first foray into verse novels but I really shouldn't have. The narrative was magical but simple, enthralling and vivid and swept me along! I had expected reading verse would be slower but it this case I breezed through the book!
Veda is our main character and her story is one of growth, coming of age and triumph over many obstacles. She loves dancing over everything else, bharatanatyam being the ancient form of dance atributed to Shiva that she practices. But everything changes on the day of her bigger triumph to date, and she needs to learn to accept her new reality, to adapt to it, and to realize she doesn't necessarily have to give up on her dreams.
There are so many details that feel so Indian, that might be so shocking for other readers, and that might be questioned by others. But to me, that have been immersed in Indian culture for months on end for the last seven years, it all felt so genuine, so every day real... The characters and their relationships, the way the religion and the mysticism is explain and presented on the pages... that was fantastic. I'm in no way or shape a religious person but not only that aspect never bothered me, it also felt perfectly done and appropriate and fascinating to read.
There was a quote from the Bible in the book that even if it might be a bit surprising at first, given the religion primarily held in the book is Hindu, but so fitting for the theme of the book, I'll share a part of it:
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...
A wonderful discovery of a book and an author I will be watching for from now on. Very well deserved 4 stars.
View all my reviews
I've never read a book in verse Pili! I can definitely see how it would make for a quick read, it's something I'm hoping to try this year. I need to broaden my reading horizons! Glad the Indian culture aspects felt so real and genuine, I think this book sounds fascinating:)
ReplyDeleteI'd really recommend this one to you then, Jenny! It's not too long and the verse worked great for it!
DeleteThis is my very first verse book and I loved it!
Thank you!
It looks really cool! I love when you try something new and end up liking it. I've had some success with liking verse stories in the past, and to be honest, I would like to know more about India. When I was younger, one of my best friends was Indian and I was always so fascinated by the Hindu images she had in her house.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed this!
-P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex
I hope you give this one a try then, P.E.! This one has plenty of Indian culture but I don't think it was too overwhelming, and the verse worked so very well!
DeleteThank you!
Ahhh, I'm familiar with the quote that you shared :) I hadn't seen much of this one before you mentioned it on Twitter, but I'm intrigued. Especially since it revolves around Indian culture (I approve) :D Fantastic review, Pili! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this book ^_^
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
It's not your typical contemporary and I think you'd probably enjoy it, Alyssa! I was really glad that everything felt so familiar to me, and that the verse narrative worked so well!
DeleteThank you, Alyssa!!
Wow a Penguin NG approval! That's like super rare!! haha. So obviously you're the shiz!! :D This sounds very unique and I love the India setting that's both intimidating for me for some reason and intriguing at the same time. But I've had really great luck with verse books. I've only read I think 3 and I really enjoyed all of them! It's such a wonderful storytelling, right? You should totally read the Ellen Hopkins series it's incredible and so so moving. Also even though they're 700 pages (I know right) it reads like a 200 page book you really fly through verse books! But anyways this sounds like a really great read and I'm not religious either so I'm glad that that was not a problem. Great review, Pilipie!
ReplyDeleteI know! I was totally blown away when I was approved by Penguin!!! But so super happy!
DeleteI now must read more books in verse! I totally need to check the Ellen Hopkins series, the lenght of the books felt a bit much but since you get through the books so fast... I really need to check them out!
Thanks a lot,Giselle!!
I love the cover but have had serious problems reading books written in verse. They don't draw me in as much as narration does. I'll check it out though. We do need more diversity!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've tried, and I found that it was quite easy to get immersed in the story!
DeleteBeautiful quote Pili, I really enjoy books that immerse yourself into different cultures and this one sounds like it portrayed India really well. Thank you for sharing lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeann! This one was a great discovery for me!
Delete