D'Anne read and liked Preeta's review of A Fine Balance:

"I think this is one of the best Indian novels published in the last 15 years, perhaps second only to The God of Small Things (caveat: I haven't read The Inheritance of Loss). [I'm using "Indian" broadly, to refer to India and the Indian di...more I think this is one of the best Indian novels published in the last 15 years, perhaps second only to The God of Small Things (caveat: I haven't read The Inheritance of Loss). [I'm using "Indian" broadly, to refer to India and the Indian diaspora.] It's not perfect -- there were times when I felt it rambled, and I generally like rambling but some of this irritated me because it was too expository, too much (I think) a concession to people who know nothing about India. But this book is so honest and deep and true that even thinking about it now, in the midst of the current spate of chicklitty "I RAN AWAY FROM MY ARRANGED MARRIAGE AND THEN WE ATE A LOT OF MANGOES AND IT WAS VERY SENSUAL" Indian novels is like a breath of fresh air. It's Dickensian in its scope and pathos. So much modern American fiction shies away from emotion; so much modern Indian fiction brims with Bollywood sentimentality of the nastiest kind. I love this book for doing neither.(less) "

D'Anne read and liked Becky's review of The Life Before Her Eyes:

"I really enjoyed this book at the sentence level--the language is crystalline, familiar, and beautifully constructed. Unfortunately, the story is ploddingly-paced, with the bulk of the text made up of the heroine ruminating over the details of her u...more I really enjoyed this book at the sentence level--the language is crystalline, familiar, and beautifully constructed. Unfortunately, the story is ploddingly-paced, with the bulk of the text made up of the heroine ruminating over the details of her utterly perfect college-town life. Only the tease of an opener and rather surreal ending bring any real excitement. Kasischke is clearly a gifted writer, but this book felt unbalanced--too much interiority, not enough action. I look forward to a novel in which she pairs her well-crafted words with a more dynamic plot. (less) "