🌿Burnt Sugar x Avni Doshi🌿 “Avni Doshi is a writer of surgical precision and sharp intelligence. This novel of mother-and-daughter resentments and the deep, intimate cuts of ancient family history gleams like a blade —both dangerous and beautiful.” -Elizabeth Gilbert I couldn’t agree more. Doshi displays a strong command of the story through her writing. I enjoyed the flow of the story, the dips into the past to connect it to the present, and the microscopic dissection first person narration by Antara. The first line of this novel holds nothing back with letting you know what you’re getting into:: “I would be lying if I said my mother’s misery has never given me pleasure.” What this book does is exacerbate the relationship dynamics of mothers and daughters not only in the biological sense but in the ways in which women develop relationships that relate closely to that type of connection such as chosen family and in-laws. This novel also explores the effects of Alzheimer’s on Antara’s mother and how the caregiver responsibility can strain an already fragile relationship. Doshi allows her “sharp intelligence” to flow through Antara’s narration in an effort to reach a more complex understanding of Alzheimer’s and how mental diseases and disorders require us to do our own in depth research to gain knowledge on what is happening within someone else on a psychological and biological level. This novel was witty, cunning, and alarming with it’s sharp turns, unrelenting secrets, and plot twists. It made me reflect on and be grateful for the mother-daughter relationships I have in my life. I look forward to reading more of Avni Doshi’s work. #BurntSugar #BookReflections #BookRecommendations #2020BookerPrize #Bookstagram #Bookish #WellReadBlackGirl #BlackGirlsReadToo #Fiction