Buddy read this with my mum (she read the paperback, I read the audiobook) because she got a copy for Christmas. 

Burnt Sugar is about the changing relationship between a mother and daughter over the course of several decades. The book oscillates between the past, with the protagonist, Antara, growing up in an ashram, and the present, where she's trying to take care of her mother, Tara, who has dementia. 

The book is incredibly character-driven, with little plot to drive the narrative forward, making the pacing very slow. Antara has a complicated relationship with Tara; at times she despises her mother for things she put her through in her childhood as well as her selfishness and body shaming, but in other moments, she feels a strong bond with her mother and deep love for her. She alternates between wishing her mother was out of her life, and fearing that she'll die soon and Antara will no longer have her in her life. 

There were some moments of profound sadness because of Tara's dementia and the book offers up reflections on shared history and forgiveness. But Antara as a character has little personality and nothing that really makes her stand out as a narrator, so I felt apathetic towards her for almost the entire novel.

There are also some strange moments where the narrative wanders off on a tangent to discuss something else (the state of the road or pavement, dying animals) that isn't relevant to the story and doesn't add any deeper meaning. And if you don't like abject descriptions of bodily functions or excrement, then this book isn't for you, because it features a lot of them (again, not always for any particular reason). I also wasn't particularly comfortable with the main character's thoughts about having sexual relations with her estranged father.

I've read books where authors successfully raise difficult, uncomfortable, and often harrowing topics to start discussions on the flaws in our society or condemn certain behaviors. It felt like this book was trying to do that, but was unfortunately unsuccessful in its endeavors. We don't really get any resounding moral messages or satisfying conclusions (where prejudices are challenged) by the end of the novel. Instead the book ends with a strange scene which left me feeling desolate and disquieted. 

Content warnings for dementia, fatphobia, body shaming, descriptions of bodily fluids and excrement, physical and emotional abuse, adult/minor relationships, explicit sexual content, gaslighting, religious prejudices, arson.

There’s some gorgeous writing in this book and a really interesting story. It just fell a little flat for me. I think for people with an echo of the relationship that is described throughout the book - the story would be very powerful. 

I can understand the many merits of this book. It is a clever and considered novel asking questions about memory and their changeable nature, family relationships (particularly mother daughter relationships), the consequences for women who choose to make themselves happy and obsession. 

But I didn’t enjoy it. It was a very slow read, too clever for its own good, prizing point-making over storytelling all wrapped up in a pessimistic narrator who left me feeling hopeless. 

If you want something slow which will make you think then go for it, but I was in the wrong mood at the time.