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This Beautiful, Ridiculous City: A Graphic Memoir
A vibrant graphic memoir of a woman—an immigrant, a survivor, a writer, a foodie, and, ultimately, an optimist—who rebuilds her life in New York City while recovering from the trauma of an abusive relationship.
“An intimate portrait of the city not only as a place of dreams, but as a vital source for healing and self-discovery.”—Nick Sousanis, Eisner Award–winning author of Unflattening
On her first night in New York City, Kay Sohini sits on the tarmac of JFK Airport making an inventory of everything she’s left behind in India: her family, friends, home, and gaslighting ex-boyfriend. In the wake of that untethering she realizes two things: she’s finally made it to the city of her literary heroes—Kerouac, Plath, Bechdel—and the trauma she’s endured has created gaping holes in her memory.
As Kay begins the work of piecing herself back together she discovers the deep sense of belonging that can only be found on the streets of New York City. In the process she falls beautifully, ridiculously in love with the bustling landscape, and realizes that the places we love do not always love us back but can still somehow save us in weird, unexpected ways.
At once heartbreaking and uplifting, This Beautiful, Ridiculous City explores the relationship between trauma and truth, displacement and belonging, and what it means to forge a life of one’s own.
“An intimate portrait of the city not only as a place of dreams, but as a vital source for healing and self-discovery.”—Nick Sousanis, Eisner Award–winning author of Unflattening
On her first night in New York City, Kay Sohini sits on the tarmac of JFK Airport making an inventory of everything she’s left behind in India: her family, friends, home, and gaslighting ex-boyfriend. In the wake of that untethering she realizes two things: she’s finally made it to the city of her literary heroes—Kerouac, Plath, Bechdel—and the trauma she’s endured has created gaping holes in her memory.
As Kay begins the work of piecing herself back together she discovers the deep sense of belonging that can only be found on the streets of New York City. In the process she falls beautifully, ridiculously in love with the bustling landscape, and realizes that the places we love do not always love us back but can still somehow save us in weird, unexpected ways.
At once heartbreaking and uplifting, This Beautiful, Ridiculous City explores the relationship between trauma and truth, displacement and belonging, and what it means to forge a life of one’s own.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
January 15, 2025
Sohini shows an excellent command of form, flow and color. Rarely have I seen someone capture a feeling so well -- in text or visuals -- as she does with New York's beauty, and building out the emotional landscape for each part of her life.
I want more. Call me greedy. I feel like Sohini withheld. Which is fine, just saying I'm here for the next book or the big epic. This book feels like an appetizer (apt because of all the food that had me dying to eat out at all the restaurants and eat all the foods from all over the world). It promised a look into one woman's life, centering around the city that saved her, and it did, but it felt more like the Sparknotes version. (Story-wise. Art-wise, no holds barred.)
I want more. Call me greedy. I feel like Sohini withheld. Which is fine, just saying I'm here for the next book or the big epic. This book feels like an appetizer (apt because of all the food that had me dying to eat out at all the restaurants and eat all the foods from all over the world). It promised a look into one woman's life, centering around the city that saved her, and it did, but it felt more like the Sparknotes version. (Story-wise. Art-wise, no holds barred.)
February 1, 2024
Parts of this book hit too close to home. Kay Sohini and I grew up in a rapidly (neo)liberalising India at two opposite ends of a momentous decade, but nearly everything she says about feeling culturally adrift and strangely, complicatedly beholded to the anglophone West – an imperialist, socio-economically engineered dream that our generation of English-educated South Asians can neither fully relate to nor stop picturing itself in – poignantly reflected my own experience back to me. My "beautiful, ridiculous city" is not New York, but the portrait the author paints of her journey to and through hers spoke to me all the same.
This is a beautiful graphic memoir, ridiculously so, and I can't wait for more people to find solace (or something similar) in it come November.
This is a beautiful graphic memoir, ridiculously so, and I can't wait for more people to find solace (or something similar) in it come November.
November 8, 2024
“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” - James Baldwin
This graphic memoir begins with one of my favorite James Baldwin quotes and that quote is one I have seen and felt over and over during this very tumultuous week. It felt like I had been waiting to read this book for this moment.
As I turned the pages, I felt so connected to the author because Kay Sohini’s connection to books and reading mirrors my own. Regardless of time and space, I found so many similarities between us among our differences because that is what the human experience is all about. Sohini shares her life, the light, the dark, and everything in between, in a raw and striking way. Her strength and prose are equally inspiring.
I am a South Jersey and Philly girl who, ironically, counts The Great Gatsby as one of my top classics and How I Met Your Mother as my favorite show of all time and both of these are pictured on the same page of this book. There are bookstores, like the full-page-worthy Strand, in the city that stole my heart from the moment I stepped inside. Sohini is right: “Everybody— visitor, native, and transplant alike— has their own New York.” Even though I am not always a fan of books where New York City becomes more of a character than a setting, I recognize what NYC represents in literature, publishing, culture, and dreams and I deeply understand the feeling of being haunted from afar by what we read. Anyone who reads this will feel its effects long after they put it down.
The art in this graphic memoir is stunning and works in tandem with the words on the pages to bring the author’s story to life. Just as NYC dazzled to the people she read about and to her, the art dazzles the reader on this journey in India and America. Incorporating some family photographs was also a wonderful touch.
As someone born in the mid-90s who either did not exist or was not old enough to comprehend its complexities, I also appreciated the history embedded in the story to help me learn about India and contextualize what I already knew about the country and the world at large during this decade and going into the new millennium. In terms of colonization, consumerism, culture, economics, education, globalization, identity, industrialization, politics, relationships, and more, I have a greater understanding of the time because of Sohini’s story. All of the more current information spoke to my own experience as a late-20-something just 100 miles from NYC and the experiences I know of others, too. The mix of “at-large” and “close-to-home” in this graphic memoir makes it both a window into a time period and into a specific life. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
This graphic memoir begins with one of my favorite James Baldwin quotes and that quote is one I have seen and felt over and over during this very tumultuous week. It felt like I had been waiting to read this book for this moment.
As I turned the pages, I felt so connected to the author because Kay Sohini’s connection to books and reading mirrors my own. Regardless of time and space, I found so many similarities between us among our differences because that is what the human experience is all about. Sohini shares her life, the light, the dark, and everything in between, in a raw and striking way. Her strength and prose are equally inspiring.
I am a South Jersey and Philly girl who, ironically, counts The Great Gatsby as one of my top classics and How I Met Your Mother as my favorite show of all time and both of these are pictured on the same page of this book. There are bookstores, like the full-page-worthy Strand, in the city that stole my heart from the moment I stepped inside. Sohini is right: “Everybody— visitor, native, and transplant alike— has their own New York.” Even though I am not always a fan of books where New York City becomes more of a character than a setting, I recognize what NYC represents in literature, publishing, culture, and dreams and I deeply understand the feeling of being haunted from afar by what we read. Anyone who reads this will feel its effects long after they put it down.
The art in this graphic memoir is stunning and works in tandem with the words on the pages to bring the author’s story to life. Just as NYC dazzled to the people she read about and to her, the art dazzles the reader on this journey in India and America. Incorporating some family photographs was also a wonderful touch.
As someone born in the mid-90s who either did not exist or was not old enough to comprehend its complexities, I also appreciated the history embedded in the story to help me learn about India and contextualize what I already knew about the country and the world at large during this decade and going into the new millennium. In terms of colonization, consumerism, culture, economics, education, globalization, identity, industrialization, politics, relationships, and more, I have a greater understanding of the time because of Sohini’s story. All of the more current information spoke to my own experience as a late-20-something just 100 miles from NYC and the experiences I know of others, too. The mix of “at-large” and “close-to-home” in this graphic memoir makes it both a window into a time period and into a specific life. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
March 10, 2025
She hadn't decided whether she was writing a food memoir, a memoir of psychological trauma, an anthropological/economic study of India and New York, or an ode to New York City. So scattered! I'd read along and then come across a sentence like this -- "[my] family coping imperfectly with the aftermath of a tragic suicide driven by small-town misogyny..." -- with no explanation or mention again. Or ten pages from the end of the book: "I had tried to kill myself three times."
Page 99: "In our large-windowed seventh-floor apartment tucked away in an undersung corner of Queens --" and yet on Page 105: "...started apartment-hunting to prepare for our move to New York from New Jersey." New Jersey! When did that happen?!? It's like she had ideas and just threw them down haphazardly without any organizing.
The art is pleasing, but I really don't like the all-capitals font for the text, which appears in boxes with no integration with art at all.
Page 99: "In our large-windowed seventh-floor apartment tucked away in an undersung corner of Queens --" and yet on Page 105: "...started apartment-hunting to prepare for our move to New York from New Jersey." New Jersey! When did that happen?!? It's like she had ideas and just threw them down haphazardly without any organizing.
The art is pleasing, but I really don't like the all-capitals font for the text, which appears in boxes with no integration with art at all.
August 4, 2025
Blurb: A vibrant graphic memoir of a woman—an immigrant, a survivor, a writer, a foodie, and, ultimately, an optimist—who rebuilds her life in New York City while recovering from the trauma of an abusive relationship.
See that blurb? That was my problem with this one. There were too many topics that distracted from a central theme - a classic debut issue. There were also punchy sentences interspersed that were not brought up again, let alone explored with any depth. Won't share any examples as would be spoilers.
I so wanted to love this graphic memoir. The illustrations are lovely and I loved her use of color. My overall sense is that the author pulled her punches around tough subject matter, and while that is certainly her prerogative I would love to see a deeper exploration of any of the themes she lightly touches upon here.
See that blurb? That was my problem with this one. There were too many topics that distracted from a central theme - a classic debut issue. There were also punchy sentences interspersed that were not brought up again, let alone explored with any depth. Won't share any examples as would be spoilers.
I so wanted to love this graphic memoir. The illustrations are lovely and I loved her use of color. My overall sense is that the author pulled her punches around tough subject matter, and while that is certainly her prerogative I would love to see a deeper exploration of any of the themes she lightly touches upon here.
January 29, 2025
Read in October, but as requested by the publisher, review posted the week of release.
3.5
This is a beautiful graphic novel. It is a memoir that takes us from India to New York. It's written and illustrated with so much love. You can tell the fondness by the author when she talks about her childhood, the movies, the food, her family. It's a vibrant narrative, one that goes to dark places too.
Since Kay Sohini was a child, she dreamt of New York. She fell in love with the city through stories, books and movies. She felt the calling to move countries and continents and as an adult, Kay loves her life in the Big Apple. Through struggles and breakdowns, the feeling for this city is what keeps her moving. So, what starts as a charming recollection, and her life in India (there's a lot of info about socioeconomics, politics, and culture), this graphic novel becomes a love letter to New York.
And though, like I said, it's beautifully illustrated, lost me a little as someone who doesn't feel that romantic notion of either New York nor America in general. Which is a shame, cause I feel like I couldn't enjoy this memoir. I feel like I was not the target audience, the idealised notion of this city I could not care less about is the central theme of this memoir. So maybe, if you feel like Kay, if you ever felt the same calling, if you ever lived there, you can fall in love all over again with New York through this pages. As for me? Reading lists of the very specific places she cares about, it was boring. It was underwhelming, not even the art style could save it.
I liked the beginning a lot. I liked learning about India, I loved the art. The love for the food that translates to the love for her family. The beauty of the city landscapes. However, I struggled with the writing, the disjointed nature of the memoir, and the pacing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for this eARC to review.
3.5
This is a beautiful graphic novel. It is a memoir that takes us from India to New York. It's written and illustrated with so much love. You can tell the fondness by the author when she talks about her childhood, the movies, the food, her family. It's a vibrant narrative, one that goes to dark places too.
Since Kay Sohini was a child, she dreamt of New York. She fell in love with the city through stories, books and movies. She felt the calling to move countries and continents and as an adult, Kay loves her life in the Big Apple. Through struggles and breakdowns, the feeling for this city is what keeps her moving. So, what starts as a charming recollection, and her life in India (there's a lot of info about socioeconomics, politics, and culture), this graphic novel becomes a love letter to New York.
And though, like I said, it's beautifully illustrated, lost me a little as someone who doesn't feel that romantic notion of either New York nor America in general. Which is a shame, cause I feel like I couldn't enjoy this memoir. I feel like I was not the target audience, the idealised notion of this city I could not care less about is the central theme of this memoir. So maybe, if you feel like Kay, if you ever felt the same calling, if you ever lived there, you can fall in love all over again with New York through this pages. As for me? Reading lists of the very specific places she cares about, it was boring. It was underwhelming, not even the art style could save it.
I liked the beginning a lot. I liked learning about India, I loved the art. The love for the food that translates to the love for her family. The beauty of the city landscapes. However, I struggled with the writing, the disjointed nature of the memoir, and the pacing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for this eARC to review.
February 4, 2025
Flew through this—beautiful and moving. I loved the descriptions of NYC, the reflections on home and belonging and story, the depictions of food and books and how they shape us.
January 10, 2025
I thought this graphic memoir was beautiful illustrated and the writing was very compelling. I loved reading about the authors experience moving from India to New York. I also love how the authors love of food was incorporated through out the book. This definitely a fun and unique graphic novel for any fans of memoirs, non fiction, or graphic novels. I highly recommend picking this one up once it's released on January 28th!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
April 22, 2025
I was expecting more of a graphic memoir and processing trauma, but this reads more like a love letter to NYC that verges on the mythical and romantic. Also I have questions when you dedicate the book to Shah Rukh Khan before your own partner.
February 15, 2025
I loved both the words and artwork in this graphic memoir. This was my first graphic book, and it feels like a new reading path has opened up for me. I’m not usually one to keep books, but I will this one.
March 7, 2025
Such a moving insight on living in NYC, with gorgeous, vibrant art.
June 25, 2025
Her love for NYC and the new self she has become. The book is messy and sad but beautiful, just like life. The paintings are beautiful too.
December 23, 2024
In this graphic memoir Kay Sohini takes you on a journey through New York and her life.
She ponders about the question: is a city capable to comfort and heal a person?
It all starts with the Love of literature and identification with the written word. As a child and a young adult Kay hears all kind of wonderful promises about New York.
On the hand of what famous writers and films say about New York, you tumble deeper in the life of Kay. You discover about her youth in India, and why one day she decides to leave India to set foot in the city of dreams. But will this city provide her with the things she is looking for?
This story paints facts, photographs, sweet memories, traditions and complex mental health topics and trauma into a brilliant work of art.
When I turned over the last page, it left me with a feeling: I should buy a ticket and travel to experience New York. And next to it the question: is there anything else this author wrote? Because I want to read that now!
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
She ponders about the question: is a city capable to comfort and heal a person?
It all starts with the Love of literature and identification with the written word. As a child and a young adult Kay hears all kind of wonderful promises about New York.
On the hand of what famous writers and films say about New York, you tumble deeper in the life of Kay. You discover about her youth in India, and why one day she decides to leave India to set foot in the city of dreams. But will this city provide her with the things she is looking for?
This story paints facts, photographs, sweet memories, traditions and complex mental health topics and trauma into a brilliant work of art.
When I turned over the last page, it left me with a feeling: I should buy a ticket and travel to experience New York. And next to it the question: is there anything else this author wrote? Because I want to read that now!
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 18, 2024
Ten Speed Press provided an early galley for review.
From the dedication, Kay reveals that she worked more than full time (twelve or more hours a day) for six months on the drawing for this book. And it truly shows in the end result. Each page is full of vibrant details and gorgeous perspective. The layouts are creative and encourage the reader to fully engage in the flow that only this kind of format can deliver. The colors give off an energy that hums, much like the city that is at the heart of the narrative. Her story is a moving one that touches upon so many themes (family connections, the power of food, surviving an abusive relationship). The choice of presenting all this through a visual medium works extremely well.
Like Kay, from a very young age I too was fascinated by the siren song of the city that does not sleep. Though, I never made it my home (yet), I enjoyed visiting a few times in my twenties and would always welcome any opportunities to do so again. Her memoir manages to capture all of the wonder of New York.
From the dedication, Kay reveals that she worked more than full time (twelve or more hours a day) for six months on the drawing for this book. And it truly shows in the end result. Each page is full of vibrant details and gorgeous perspective. The layouts are creative and encourage the reader to fully engage in the flow that only this kind of format can deliver. The colors give off an energy that hums, much like the city that is at the heart of the narrative. Her story is a moving one that touches upon so many themes (family connections, the power of food, surviving an abusive relationship). The choice of presenting all this through a visual medium works extremely well.
Like Kay, from a very young age I too was fascinated by the siren song of the city that does not sleep. Though, I never made it my home (yet), I enjoyed visiting a few times in my twenties and would always welcome any opportunities to do so again. Her memoir manages to capture all of the wonder of New York.
December 15, 2024
Beautifully illustrated! Though sometimes I got a bit overwhelmed with the amount of information, and the reading order of the text wasn't always very obvious. Still, this was a good read!
September 16, 2024
Kay Sohini’s This Beautiful, Ridiculous City is a vibrant and moving graphic memoir that deftly explores the immigrant experience through a personal lens. With stunning, colorful illustrations, Sohini captures her journey from Calcutta to New York City, weaving together themes of recovery, memory, and cultural assimilation. The memoir shines in its depiction of New York’s diverse and dynamic landscape, a stark contrast to the city’s more superficial portrayals in popular culture. While Sohini’s deep affection for New York is palpable, her reflections on displacement and the search for belonging are universally resonant. The book offers an insightful look at gendered abuse, migration, and the complexities of calling a place home while navigating its challenges. It’s a poignant read that combines beautiful art with a heartfelt narrative.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 12, 2024
(more of a 3.5...)
This memoir in graphic novel form leaves me feeling conflicted. There are things I loved in here: the art, and the author's use of colour. The profoundly human story. Certain incredibly affecting moments. The raw vulnerability of it. And yet it was definitely an imperfect product: the writing, especially in the beginning, skews heavily academic, which makes it drag and feel impersonal (the last thing you want in a such a personal memoir). I wish this aspect had felt more balanced, because the information the author was providing was actually very valuable, but the way it was presented made it feel boring and didactic.
Kay Sohini really shows off her mastery of the graphic novel form in this memoir in comics; I have seen few artists play as she does with the structure itself of the genre! A must read for anyone studying & writing comics.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
This memoir in graphic novel form leaves me feeling conflicted. There are things I loved in here: the art, and the author's use of colour. The profoundly human story. Certain incredibly affecting moments. The raw vulnerability of it. And yet it was definitely an imperfect product: the writing, especially in the beginning, skews heavily academic, which makes it drag and feel impersonal (the last thing you want in a such a personal memoir). I wish this aspect had felt more balanced, because the information the author was providing was actually very valuable, but the way it was presented made it feel boring and didactic.
Kay Sohini really shows off her mastery of the graphic novel form in this memoir in comics; I have seen few artists play as she does with the structure itself of the genre! A must read for anyone studying & writing comics.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
April 20, 2025
This Beautiful, Ridiculous City is a graphic memoir by Indian-American author Kay Sohini. The book is clearly written in homage to Allison Bechdel (of Fun Home fame), but, in my opinion, is superior.
Sohini highlights several snapshots from her life, particularly those that relate to her leaving India and moving to New York. The writing is incisive and well-written with quotations from literary luminaries like James Baldwin, Virginia Woolf, Jack Kerouac, and Dylan Thomas. The art is lush and colorful with the occasional photograph thrown in.
Well done.
Sohini highlights several snapshots from her life, particularly those that relate to her leaving India and moving to New York. The writing is incisive and well-written with quotations from literary luminaries like James Baldwin, Virginia Woolf, Jack Kerouac, and Dylan Thomas. The art is lush and colorful with the occasional photograph thrown in.
Well done.
August 24, 2025
Read on a whim in one sitting at the library. I just came back from a weekend NYC trip and, as usual for cities, had the thoughts of “I could never live here” juxtaposed with that city enchantment that is only to be experienced. This graphic novel is absolutely gorgeously illustrated and was a really beautiful love letter to NYC, through the experience of the author immigrating from India and going through life as a 20-something.
December 21, 2025
This graphic novel is a feast for the senses, her artwork is stunning. I know it's meant to be about her relationship with NYC, but I am much more interested in her country of origin, what she left behind, and why. She gives just enough to give context to her sense (or lack) of home, but I worry, as she obviously does, for her future in the land of the pipe dream.
Whispers of post colonialism, misogyny and traditionalist tensions add texture and depth.
I really wish her all the best.
Whispers of post colonialism, misogyny and traditionalist tensions add texture and depth.
I really wish her all the best.
February 27, 2025
This was fantastic. I really loved the layout and design of this. It made it easy to read, which I always appreciate. I enjoyed reading about the author's journey and her love of New York. I honestly wanted this to be longer. It was such a visually interesting book to read and I loved all of the colors and how the author used them throughout. I will definitely be checking out more from this author.
April 28, 2025
A very quick but enjoyable read with some dark themes that combines history of New York and India with personal story of the author. As a New Yorker myself I enjoyed reading another person’s story of how this city with all its problems, healed them.
October 15, 2025
One of the best graphic memoirs I’ve read. An aching account of what it means to find independence and belonging in a new place — one that’s grounded in a specific city but speaks to a universal experience beyond location.
June 25, 2025
Beautiful story about the author's love affair with New York. It's a given that I would enjoy this, as I share a lot of the city-related feelings she writes about. The art is also gorgeous.
July 24, 2025
A beautifully illustrated and evocative graphic novel! This is a love letter to New York although personally I enjoyed the descriptions of food and life in India (in the 90's) before the move to New York just as much as the author's love affair with the Big Apple.
March 23, 2025
A beautiful and not ridiculous graphic memoir from South Asian writer/cartoonist Kay Sohini about her love of New York City and how it saved her even with all of its faults. Anyone who's ever lived in NYC, loved NYC, currently lives in NYC, wishes they could move to NYC, or just has a fascination with the city should read this beautifully illustrated and written story.
December 18, 2025
The art is often beautiful in this part-memoir, part-essay, but I found myself longing for more character, more storytelling through the form. Most of the time, this is a series of technically well-crafted images paired with somewhat clinically written blocks of text, leaving me feeling distanced from Sohini’s story. One clear example of this is how she appears throughout the pages but her facial expression is always the same: carefully neutral, observant, and thoughtful, no matter what the text is telling us. This is an interesting read and nice to look at, but I always wanted more.
October 29, 2025
I really enjoyed the illustration style.
January 3, 2026
An NYC homage that I loved!
March 5, 2025
In Summary
The illustrations are vibrant, but the writing not so much. The book is supposed to be a memoir, but Sohini is stingy with the details of her life. As such, it ends up being more social commentary and a laundry list of what she loves about New York City rather than a record of a unique life lived.
The Review
Kay Sohini has always daydreamed about New York City from her middle-class Calcutta suburb. At the age of 24, she finally makes the leap to New York. Partly pursue a PhD in English, partly to put an abusive relationship behind her. And amidst the city’s chaotic bustle, she finds healing and a place to belong.
This Beautiful, Ridiculous City is subtitled A Graphic Memoir, so the narrative is in first person. There’s no dialogue or scenes, just a lot of prose with sentences that tend to get overly long. The text is formatted into blocks that are arranged into accompanying illustrations, most of which take up a full page or two pages. The art style varies depending on the theme, but for the most part, illustrations are richly colored and digitally rendered. At certain points, photographs are inserted amid the drawings. The quality of the paper, binding, and printing are all top-notch.
Visually, the book is gorgeous, but in terms of written content, it’s all over the place. The contents consist of six chapters. “Chapter 1: New York before New York” is essentially Sohini fangirling over literature, specifically New York literature. “Chapter 2: The Nineties, the New Millennium, and a Postcolonial Nation” describes the cultural, social, and economic backdrop against which she grew up, which is helpful for those unfamiliar with India. In “Chapter 3: Clementines, Because in Bengali, We Do Not Say, ‘I Love You’,” she describes at length the various foods her family ate before concluding with an abrupt account of her grandfather’s death. “Chapter 4: A Death and a Disappearing Act” explores her dysfunctional relationship with her abusive ex-boyfriend. “Chapter 5: New York, New York” is Sohini fangirling over the city’s energy, architecture, landmarks, and diverse foods. “Chapter 6: A Room of One’s Own in This Beautiful, Ridiculous City” is a commentary about housing and the challenges to home ownership in New York.
As a life narrative, the book comes across as guarded and disconnected. Sohini is enthusiastic about sharing the details of the books she loves in Chapter 1, the foods she loves in Chapter 3, and the city she loves in Chapter 5. She is much less generous about relationships with family and friends. Beyond a description of the dishes her grandmother made to spoil her, we don’t get any sense of how Sohini interacted with relatives. It’s not until Chapter 6 that she mentions she grew up in a four generation household of 14. Also, the narrative might lead you to think she’s an only child, except for a single offhanded mention of an estranged sibling midway through the book, and she doesn’t even bother mentioning the sibling’s gender. She talks more about the Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan than she does about the husband she met and married in New York. As such, when she mentions the huge personal impact of grandfather’s death at the end of Chapter 3, it seems to come out of nowhere.
Her personal journey from brokenness to healing also comes across as unbalanced. She goes into extreme depth about how her manipulative boyfriend destroyed her sense of self in Chapter 4, but she spends scant time sharing how she healed from it. Despite her refrain about arriving in America with holes in her memory, once in New York, the narrative’s all about how awesome the city is rather than the process of filling those memory holes.
As such, the book comes across more like social commentary and essays with bits of Sohini’s personal experiences woven in. If you love all things New York City, you’ll probably enjoy her gushing. However, keep in mind that the book contains as much content about India as New York.
By the way, Sohini supports her commentaries with quotes and periodical headlines, but her one chart in the section about disparity in home ownership makes no mathematical sense. The bar chart shows “Percentage of Statewide Owner-Occupied Units” by race. If you add the percentages for Asian, Black, Latino, and White, you get 175%. If you include Other, the total goes up to 200%.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
The illustrations are vibrant, but the writing not so much. The book is supposed to be a memoir, but Sohini is stingy with the details of her life. As such, it ends up being more social commentary and a laundry list of what she loves about New York City rather than a record of a unique life lived.
The Review
Kay Sohini has always daydreamed about New York City from her middle-class Calcutta suburb. At the age of 24, she finally makes the leap to New York. Partly pursue a PhD in English, partly to put an abusive relationship behind her. And amidst the city’s chaotic bustle, she finds healing and a place to belong.
This Beautiful, Ridiculous City is subtitled A Graphic Memoir, so the narrative is in first person. There’s no dialogue or scenes, just a lot of prose with sentences that tend to get overly long. The text is formatted into blocks that are arranged into accompanying illustrations, most of which take up a full page or two pages. The art style varies depending on the theme, but for the most part, illustrations are richly colored and digitally rendered. At certain points, photographs are inserted amid the drawings. The quality of the paper, binding, and printing are all top-notch.
Visually, the book is gorgeous, but in terms of written content, it’s all over the place. The contents consist of six chapters. “Chapter 1: New York before New York” is essentially Sohini fangirling over literature, specifically New York literature. “Chapter 2: The Nineties, the New Millennium, and a Postcolonial Nation” describes the cultural, social, and economic backdrop against which she grew up, which is helpful for those unfamiliar with India. In “Chapter 3: Clementines, Because in Bengali, We Do Not Say, ‘I Love You’,” she describes at length the various foods her family ate before concluding with an abrupt account of her grandfather’s death. “Chapter 4: A Death and a Disappearing Act” explores her dysfunctional relationship with her abusive ex-boyfriend. “Chapter 5: New York, New York” is Sohini fangirling over the city’s energy, architecture, landmarks, and diverse foods. “Chapter 6: A Room of One’s Own in This Beautiful, Ridiculous City” is a commentary about housing and the challenges to home ownership in New York.
As a life narrative, the book comes across as guarded and disconnected. Sohini is enthusiastic about sharing the details of the books she loves in Chapter 1, the foods she loves in Chapter 3, and the city she loves in Chapter 5. She is much less generous about relationships with family and friends. Beyond a description of the dishes her grandmother made to spoil her, we don’t get any sense of how Sohini interacted with relatives. It’s not until Chapter 6 that she mentions she grew up in a four generation household of 14. Also, the narrative might lead you to think she’s an only child, except for a single offhanded mention of an estranged sibling midway through the book, and she doesn’t even bother mentioning the sibling’s gender. She talks more about the Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan than she does about the husband she met and married in New York. As such, when she mentions the huge personal impact of grandfather’s death at the end of Chapter 3, it seems to come out of nowhere.
Her personal journey from brokenness to healing also comes across as unbalanced. She goes into extreme depth about how her manipulative boyfriend destroyed her sense of self in Chapter 4, but she spends scant time sharing how she healed from it. Despite her refrain about arriving in America with holes in her memory, once in New York, the narrative’s all about how awesome the city is rather than the process of filling those memory holes.
As such, the book comes across more like social commentary and essays with bits of Sohini’s personal experiences woven in. If you love all things New York City, you’ll probably enjoy her gushing. However, keep in mind that the book contains as much content about India as New York.
By the way, Sohini supports her commentaries with quotes and periodical headlines, but her one chart in the section about disparity in home ownership makes no mathematical sense. The bar chart shows “Percentage of Statewide Owner-Occupied Units” by race. If you add the percentages for Asian, Black, Latino, and White, you get 175%. If you include Other, the total goes up to 200%.
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