INK AND INSIGHTS

DEPAYSEMENT

I have delayed the reviews for a long time so I hope you guys forgive me, I just couldn't get enough time to read and write. Anyway, today's review is for Depaysement by -tchaikovskaya. You guys should check it out because it is amazing in terms of writing, characters, and dialogue. Also, spoilers ahead so be mindful if you're reading this review first.

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1. Title of the story:

Depaysement.

I have seen this word for the first time and was automatically curious to know what it meant. A simple Google search answered my questions: the feeling of not being at home, in a foreign or different place, whether a good or a bad feeling; change of scenery.

2: Cover of the story:

I love the cover. It is simple but the colors stand out, and the fact that you used figs on the cover while that is the first sentence of your book description makes it even more coordinated. If I were to see it in a bookstore and read the description, I would definitely buy it (saying as I do buy books mostly based on the cover and description). 

3. Description of the story:

I love your description and I have included it down here:

LIKE FIGS ON A HOT SUMMER DAY, Yusuf Khayat is slowly losing form. Watching the people around him beat up by life and ambition, he thinks it better to be uninvolved rather than hurt, better a bystander than an accomplice.

But when a career shift transforms him into a walking culture shock, he has no choice but to stand out by blending in.

OR...

A perpetual immigrant is suddenly forced to belong.

So here we see a simple format that can easily go on the back of a published cover. You've introduced us to the character, his current situation, and the context the story is set in. The format is main character+context+hook which is simple but effective and the poetic comparison at the beginning just makes it even better.

Through this description, the reader feels intrigued because enough questions are rising in his or her mind. Like why Yusuf was fading away, why he thought it was better to be a bystander, and what circumstances he would face after the move. So the reader is effectively lured into the story, which is the purpose of your description or blurb in the first place.

4. Character Dynamics:

I love the diverse and interesting characters you have come up with. My favorite books to read are those having strong characters who command the reader's attention from the first page to the very end. Your characters have that quality and I love it.

Yusuf - A very different type of protagonist for me to read about, Yusuf easily captured my attention from the first chapter. He seemed very detached at first, but the reasons behind it are also explained well as the story progresses. Unlike most protagonists, his motive is not clear but that is what makes him interesting and I can't wait to see where he will go from the last point of the story that I've read.

Aliyah - I have mixed feelings about her. In the beginning, I thought she was a slightly clingy but good-natured person, but I didn't like how she treated Yusuf after the whole fiance and getting married thing (which ofc was necessary for the plot). She's a grey character and since she has come back into the story after it was implied that her chapter has closed, I am excited to see what direction she is going to take from now on.