The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Burnt Sugar – Avni Doshi
READ FOR BOOKERTHON
A story of love and betrayal between a woman and her mother.
✚ “Though dementia is the vehicle for the plot, the real story in Burnt Sugar is the toxic co-dependent relationship between Tara and her daughter Antara. Despite Antara’s sense of injustice at her mother’s less than acceptable parenting, she still feels responsible for her care when she begins losing her memory. Now all Antara has of her past is her own memory, which in Doshi’s unsentimental writing style, is not totally reliable in itself. For this reason Antara is never able to reconcile her un-challenged thoughts and feelings and therefore unable to forgive or accept her mother’s wild behaviour: in the commune; with various men; begging on the street.
“It is a story that starts of slowly but quickly gathers momentum until the pages of toxicity between mother and daughter cannot be put down. It’s a bit like watching a train wreck, horrifying but you know you won’t look away. It is addictive and compelling and a truthful, unglamorous account of love, memory and dependency. If you appreciate literary studies of human nature, try this one out.” – Rachel
✚ “I had been trying to come up with the word that best describes Burnt Sugar and lo and behold there it is on the cover as Fatima Bhutto calls it: “taut, unsettling, ferocious”. I would agree with all three, but especially ‘unsettling’. It wasn’t a book I was compelled to pick up to find out what was happening next as it meant I would have to experience a certain level of discomfort and yes feel unsettled. It’s a real slow-burner of a book especially compared to The Shadow King.
“Antara was a distinctive female character who revealed so much about herself I was left feeling like I was encroaching too much on her life. I almost feel relieved that I’ve finished it if that makes sense? Amazing writing and I would not be disappointed at all if this one took the Booker win.” –Suzy
—-
Published 2020
Hamish Hamilton
240 pages
We’re currently reading:
Books read:
How many books have we read for bookclub in the past 17 years?
The Free-Range Bookclub 
Recent Comments