Starts as a very good book, however the quality is not sustained. Until about half way through, the story is simple but effective. Then it all falls apart. Going completely against what has come so far, it turns into an implausable science fiction story. The book is also quite short and not great value.
Found the plot very slow moving and containing little or no surprises. Characters were quite bland and overall I was surprised that this made the Booker Shortlist. Having read Hamids previous work I felt that this was very samey offering nothing new.
The idea of the book is great and I was very much looking forward to the adventures of the 2 main characters Nadia & Saeed. I was very disappointed by the slowness of the narrative, the lack of depth of both main characters and how the plot developed. Really sad as I had high expectations: a waste of time to read this book.
The book reads well until the second half where the chapters become a bit messy. Garroullous and rambling at times. It's forgivable but distracts attention and bursts the bubble a bit. Wouldn't rush to recommend it
I enjoyed the writing style of the author, very descriptive. Although at times it detracted form the overall story line. I didnt understand what the point was to include the snippets on the additional characters..and what it added o the Book? After all that detail in the beginning of the Book, I thought the end was rushed and fell flat
Found this book disappointing. It starts really well but then jumps all of a sudden into a future dystopia, perhaps not that unimaginable, but not quite uncomfortable enough to grip you. I stopped caring.