What do readers think of Small Days and Nights by Tishani Doshi? Write your own review.

I thought that the story of a young woman who was put together with a sister who so needed her would make their lives more interesting and fulfilled. That is not what I found. I was over it pretty quickly. A great deal of detail was interesting but tedious. I see that other reviewers were more positive, but for me it was difficult to get through.

I so wanted to like this book. And I did – parts of it anyway. Doshi in some places (mostly descriptive parts of the book) is lyrical and enchanting, but in other parts (mostly conversations and character development) she is stilted and unpolished. Did she need a good editor? I also found the general outline of the book to be confusing as it jumped back and forth in time.

That said the maturing of the relationship between the sisters grows and changes in lovely ways. Both sisters and Teacher developed as the book progressed. Mother, however, seemed static, even as Grace reveals more and more of her personality and their relationship. Lucia was my favorite part of the book and was sympathetically drawn. I found my smiling as she made her wants and needs known.

Overall, I give the book 3 out of 5 stars for the parts of wonderful writing and Lucia. It is not a book I would recommend wholeheartedly.

After I have finished the last page of a book I'm reading and I close the book, I have thoughts and feelings about what I just finished. I think about the characters and their lives. I even go back to the beginning to get a sense or feel of what I have read, talk about it and recommend it. This story did not do that for me at all. When I finished the story I closed the book and went back a few days later and read the prologue. Still the story did not grab me. I felt the characters were shallow. Grace selfish, full of guilt and regret. The ending somewhat predictable. I also didn't care for the cover of the book.

I would give this book a 3.5, though I wanted to like it more than I did. The characters weren't terribly sympathetic, though Grace seemed to have learned more appropriate treatment of a person with Down syndrome by the end of the book, even if she hadn't figured out much about romantic relationships. I suppose one could summarize by saying they got there in the end, but it was a long and tortuous journey.

This book was a welcome distraction from the other books I've been reading as of late. I have to admit however, I like it when a book grabs me from the first page. This book was not that. However, I did enjoy the plot and the characters. Although this was a slowburn, I'd definitely recommend it. It was a unique, special book and I'll be looking for more from this author in the future.

Main character Grace Marisola is a woman in her thirties who has lived in India, the U.S. and Italy without a sense of who she is or where she belongs. After growing up in India with her battling Italian father and Indian mother, she travels to America for college. There she marries Blake, an American student she first encountered in India. Now she is returning to India to bury her mother and meet a special needs sister she never knew she had. Blake remains in the U.S. as they both try to figure out whether their ten-year marriage is worth saving. Much of the novel exposes the cultural, geographical and emotional dichotomies that shape Grace. But, rather than embracing the differences, she seems stuck within herself. I would have enjoyed the book much more if I could have sympathized with Grace. Although she is aware of the things that hold her back, she seems unwilling or unable to grow through that awareness.

I love reading about books from cultures I'm not familiar with, but I did not love this book. I can equate it to the female version of Rain Man except I never developed empathy for the main character, the sister who did not know of the sister with Down Syndrome. I should have been able to read the 261 pages in about 3 days. Instead, it took 11 days. I struggled to finish it.

Although the cover art, title, and even the first chapter intrigued me, I did not feel the remainder fulfilled that expectation. Between first and last chapters I found transitions from present to past and all the places and people involved to be too often unclear. I felt no connection to the characters or depth to most of the characters. Their relationships seemed shallow for the most part. Although the final pages do reveal some redemptive qualities it seemed too little, too late. I only reached those final pages due to my commitment to the review. Otherwise, I'd have left them all behind in their smallness.