“Literary fiction is not a common genre for me, but the cover of this book caught my eye and I decided to give it a chance. Imagine my surprise when I read the entire book in one sitting.”

Review by Rayleigh Gray

Home. Is it a place or a feeling?

When Anu and her family move to a small village in the English countryside, she is desperate to put down roots in her new community. To her dismay, not everyone is welcoming. Is it her? Must she change to fit in?

In her quest for answers, she sets out to peel back the layers of her life, examining all that has made her who she is. Truth, she finds, is often uncomfortable and unpalatable. And rarely provides answers.

At a crossroads, Anu needs to determine which is the right path for her — acceptance from within or without?

Literary fiction is not a common genre for me, but the cover of this book caught my eye and I decided to give it a chance. Imagine my surprise when I read the entire book in one sitting.

A Quiet Dissonance is incredibly easy to read because of its fast pace and short scenes. We cover years of Anu's life in only 340 pages, yet I don't feel as if a single thing was brushed over or ignored. The writing is primarily narrative in tone and dialogue focused, which makes it that much easier to get sucked in and lose all track of time.

I truly loved everything about this book; from the glimpse into Indian culture and Anu's life as an immigrant in England, to the in-depth look at women's friendships, and even Anu's marriage with Ravi (who is absolutely darling). The message here is clear in its anthem that women, though we may each have our differences, are all very similar in our need for friendships. This book made me incredibly grateful to have found true friends early on in my life.

Overall, I'm glad that I branched out of my usual reading genre and gave this book a chance.

Content Ratings:

0. None.

2. Romance with mild content (holding hands and mild kissing).

3. Infrequent and mild cursing (less than 10  “h*lls”, “*ss”, “sh*ts”, and “d*mns”)

Other Trigger/Content Notices:

No action/gore. Romance is limited to a few kisses and brief fade-to-black scenes. Cursing is almost non-existent, but there were a couple of words sprinkled throughout.

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