Anchitaa’s Reviews > The Book of Everlasting Things > Status Update

Inexplicably, the story has turned into a chronicle of a solider-turned-perfumer’s experiences during the first world war. I wasn’t expecting so many journal entries and accounts in France; not sure how I feel about the subject & tone shift yet.

Well, that was brutal to read.

I knew going into the book that the chapters involving the Partition would be difficult; but seeing it through Samir’s eyes was absolutely shattering. I could feel his grief as he listlessly wandered through the burned wreckage of Shahalmi Bazaar.

My biggest critique so far: I wish there was a character representing those advocating for a separate land. Without that foil, it feels like an "us vs. them" narrative. The Page 159 description of events in Calcutta reads as one side being wholly wrong and the other wholly innocent; imo more nuance would have elevated the story. Maybe that perspective comes later?

Thank you, Kay, for inspiring me to record my mid-read thoughts.

When my mom bundled this novel in her suitcase, with chikankari kurtis and an embroidered blue purse from Delhi, I didn’t know that I would be actively transported into 1930s Anarkali Bazaar. I feel like I am sipping kulhad chai on the street watching Firdaus & Samir. And, Altaf is one of the sweetest father characters in any book I’ve read!