It may be that I didn't give this book enough of a chance. I went halfway, then started speed reading, then gave up. The words are beautiful, but there's only so much poetry I can handle and it's a very long book. It has philosophy and beauty, but what it lacks is a coherent story-line I actually want to follow. I liked the parts I read, but I grew impatient. Maybe this is "my bad."
Maali wakes up dead. He can't remember who killed him and why, but in the violent landscape of Sri Lankan politics, that's not as surprising as it may seem. He has seven days to find the light, and the light is what he needs it to be. Horrifying yet humorous - if you like black humour.
The cultural oppression of the Uyghurs occasionally attracts attention from the press, so it was something I was vaguely aware of before reading this book. Needless to say, it's a sad story. The author describes her life and the increasingly oppressive regime in which Han Chinese (China has many ethnic groups) strive to forcefully assimilate Uyghurs. Her escape to the US and subsequent attempts to raise awareness led to the imprisonment of friends and family. There are things she did that hurt others and which she blames others for - notably, her relationship with her first husband - and the language is noticeably not native English, but it's authentic, gripping, and filled with truths the world is largely oblivious to.
I guess the header says it all. It looked so much more interesting than it turned out to be. I usually finish a book in three days, but three weeks and two attempts saw me giving up to do something else. Then again, someone else may feel differently.
I honestly felt that this book didn't need to be as long as it was, that it needn't have so many characters, and that it was written by someone with only the most cursory understanding of games and gaming. In this sense, it wasn't completely believable - a close-knit gaming community for an iconic game all living within a few kilometers of one another and all with real-life relationships (this does not happen) - it was nevertheless worth reading. The in-game chats are the hardest, until you learn to read them consecutively while understanding that they occur in parallel. Enjoyed it all the same and (although this is what you do with books by definition) found it to be a page-turner. Should have been a bit shorter though: a bit too much about too little.