This story has a very interesting premise - especially as a bibliophile. However, the narration style did take me about a chapter or so to get into.

Anisa writes subtitles for Bollywood films, but dreams of translating more. She meets her partner Adam, who seems to be a seemless polyglot.

I love the critique of linguistic ideology, white exceptionalism and how the global majority is positioned to offer comfort when faced with white fragility. There is a line between appreciation and apporpriation, which is explored well. Anisa also explores her own self worth, her awareness of how she now finds home 'exotic', sexualisation within patriarchy, internalised white supremacy,

This is brilliant feminist satire.


Quotes which made me stop and reflect:
- "Translation is not subjective...it is highly mathematical..it is about retaining the feeling , the thing underneath. Its as if you go underground , and there are all these shapes and colours, and there you see that oh 'died' in this language is the closest in colour and shape, consistency and texture, to 'passed away' in this other language". And it feels like a personal accomplishment when you make the match and haul the pair back up to the surface.

- The double standards of language learning: so much gratitude and admiration when a white person speaks a non-white language, and only contempt and indignation when a non-white person doesn't speak English.

- "sometimes the body struggles to accept a gift. It becomes so used to the striving that it doesn't know what to do when the wish is fulfilled"

- "to love without wanting to devour, must surely be anorexic".

- "it could be that any brilliant woman who settles down with a less brilliant man dulls herself to console and compensate...putting out her fire so he would not feel inadequate...much of her emotional labour was being diverted in his direction..."