Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal

14 reviews

jordynkw's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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sarah984's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This got a little didactic in places (felt like each character was created to address a specific issue), I didn't really care for the murder mystery side plot, and everything got a little too fantastical for me at the end, but overall I enjoyed this book about Filipino domestic workers in Singapore a lot. How do you live as a human in these circumstances is a question that each character is trying to answer in her own way.
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hellbender's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I always learn something when I read Jawal’s novels, and this one was no different. The dialogue can be a bit hokey at times, but overall, a good storyline that addresses heavy subject matter with tactful comedy. 
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clothildev's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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crystalisreading's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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mcire's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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bookishconnections's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

It’s hard to rate this book, I really enjoyed Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by this author and in many ways, this book follows a similar plot and structure.

I’d put it in the cosy mysteries section but I did find it really slow in some places.

Although the author interviewed domestic workers from the Philippines, since she is not of that community I found it hard to get into the story as much as I would have liked to.

I totally believe the stories shared are true instances of how these workers are treated but I wish they’d been able to tell their own stories.

The plot is enjoyable and moves along but not as quick as I would have liked.

If you enjoyed Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jessie Sutanto, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
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chailady's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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ukponge's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Now You See Us explores the lives of women working as domestic workers or helpers in Singapore. The story follows three different Filipino women and a significant portion of the plot revolves around their belief that a fellow migrant worker charged with the murder of her employer has been falsely accused. Their investigation into this was a little improbable but I wasn’t unduly bothered. For me the real strength of the book was the way it highlighted the vulnerability of female foreign migrant worker to abuses by employers, agencies and Singaporean society in general. Even good employers overstepped boundaries and created difficulties for their helpers, albeit with kind intentions. I couldn’t help cheering when feisty Donita, who was subject to the worst abuse by her employer, seized an opportunity to have her say and get revenge in a wonderfully public way. This book has much in common with Christy Lefteri’s Songbirds. They’d make a good pairing. There are also a couple of LGBTQ storylines woven into the plot. They are minor but they are definitely more than tokenism, and add to the picture of Singaporean society and to one of the characters especially. 
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