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God Loves Hair
by
"A touching poetic exploration of budding sexuality, the mysticism of religion, and family dynamics. Shraya's text and Neufeld's illustrations capture the confusion, innocence, and de3lusions of adolescence bang on."?Brian Francis, author of Fruit
I am often mistaken for a girl. Not just because I like to wear dresses or makeup. I don't mind. My parents are from India and ...more
I am often mistaken for a girl. Not just because I like to wear dresses or makeup. I don't mind. My parents are from India and ...more
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Paperback, 92 pages
Published
September 9th 2014
by Arsenal Pulp Press
(first published May 2010)
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Start your review of God Loves Hair
Tiny glimpses on the writers life. It was written in a very simple language but the stories had a deeper meaning to them. I loved the art that accompanied the writings.
Shraya, Vivek. God Loves Hair. Arsenal Pulp Press. 2014. $18.95. 110p. SC 9781551525433.
God Loves Hair is a compilation of short stories where the author explores what its like to come of age in Hindu family in Canada. The stories range in length from one paragraph to a few pages, and each is accompanied by a full-color illustration. Shraya covers the gamut of topics, from gender and sexuality to politics and bullying.
Told from a first-person perspective as a series of memory snapshots, these ...more
God Loves Hair is a compilation of short stories where the author explores what its like to come of age in Hindu family in Canada. The stories range in length from one paragraph to a few pages, and each is accompanied by a full-color illustration. Shraya covers the gamut of topics, from gender and sexuality to politics and bullying.
Told from a first-person perspective as a series of memory snapshots, these ...more
In this poignantly idiosyncratic book of short stories, a Canadian kid of South Asian origin negotiates his relationships with god, his body, his sexuality, and the world around him. The stories are funny, a little sad, often surprising, and accompanied by gorgeous illustrations. The author articulates the young narrator's voice with both clarity and tenderness. My own childhood shares some similarities with that of the protagonist, and I recalled with a startling immediacy the fear and
...more
Everything Vivek Shraya does is amazing. Such beautiful prose--she writes in such a frank and honest way about race and gender and everything.
The author knows so well the anxiety and worry teenage boys from India go through as they come of age in the United States. Their identity at school, their struggle with the invisible forces to "fit in" or "blend in", and their sense of maturity become the issues every young person can relate to.
Aug 09, 2019
Michelle
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
slice-of-life,
memoir,
advice,
lgbt,
desi,
canadian,
1990s-is-now-historical-fiction
This is more a 2.3 or very weak 3. It's slices of life of a Hindu youth in Canada as he makes sense of his queer identity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The short stories have an illustration of the topic and title that precede them. The writing is beautiful in what images the author chooses to highlight in so few words. It just feels a bit repetitive sometimes but it might be because it doesn't go into depth. Religion, sex, and puberty are the main topic, but how religion and these topic ...more
The short stories have an illustration of the topic and title that precede them. The writing is beautiful in what images the author chooses to highlight in so few words. It just feels a bit repetitive sometimes but it might be because it doesn't go into depth. Religion, sex, and puberty are the main topic, but how religion and these topic ...more
God Loves Hair is a beautiful little collection of stories. The way these stories tie together and form a picture of life in Canada for someone who is both LGBTQ+ and brown. I hope that Shraya's work comes to find greater recognition because we all need to read more stories like this.
I would definitely recommend this. This isn't my first time reading Shraya and it won't be my last--I already have two of her other books on hold with the library.
I would definitely recommend this. This isn't my first time reading Shraya and it won't be my last--I already have two of her other books on hold with the library.
A very well-done graphic fiction about a young trans person's childhood experiences of gender dysphoria connected to the traditional Indian role of hair. Skillful and compassionate, detailing experiences of gender and sexuality pre-transition and what that looks like in a Indian-Canadian family that is fairly traditional.
Collection of stories, usually about three pages long. Roughly in chronological order in the life of the main character, but not entirely. Focuses on being brown, being religious, and navigating gender (and how all those things relate), but the book is also a story of growing up more broadly.
One of Shraya's stronger works, God Loves Hair details a queer Indian male's journey through adolescence and finding inner peace in his own religion. It is sweet, poignant and delicate work, with the naive heartfelt angst of the teenage years on blast.
Vivek Shraya always wows me with her sensitive explorations of identity, sexuality, belonging, race, Hinduism.
Jul 02, 2019
Miss Susan
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
lgbtqia,
poc-author
i'd incorrectly assumed this was a picture book but liked what it turned out to be (a collection of illustrated vignettes about a queer brown religious child growing up) much better
4 stars
4 stars
will i ever dislike anything vivek shraya has ever written?
not today.
i loved this. <3 beautiful illustrations. beautiful vignettes. beautiful everything.
not today.
i loved this. <3 beautiful illustrations. beautiful vignettes. beautiful everything.
Loved the pairings with the illustrations here and can definitely see the beginnings of She of the Mountains. Strong, beautiful, and relatable.
This collection of short stories is more like a poem, weaving filaments together with a light touch, no matter the gravity.
Beautiful art, atypical format, poignant short stories - well worth a read.
Rep: own-voices LGBTQIA(Trans), Hindu, Indian-Canadian
An illustrated memoir of collected vignettes about mysteries ranging from sexuality to hair to the dwelling place of God told from the innocent and curious perspective of an Indian Canadian genderqueer child.
Objects and feelings encountered:
-joy in imagining
-transformative magic of colors and wardrobe
-a belonging found in prayer
-snowfall, an image of depression
-jeans that possess comfort, tainted
-identities unclaimed and embraced
-a mother's ...more
An illustrated memoir of collected vignettes about mysteries ranging from sexuality to hair to the dwelling place of God told from the innocent and curious perspective of an Indian Canadian genderqueer child.
Objects and feelings encountered:
-joy in imagining
-transformative magic of colors and wardrobe
-a belonging found in prayer
-snowfall, an image of depression
-jeans that possess comfort, tainted
-identities unclaimed and embraced
-a mother's ...more
Intriguing, heartfelt, and heartbreaking.
Certainly readable, but rather underwhelming. The fragments are personal and sometimes compelling, especially since some of the vignettes call me back to my own childhood (by the sounds of things, we lived around the same times), and the religiosity is both sweet and heart breaking.
However, if you are looking for some sort of frame or conclusion, this isn't the piece for you, and I found myself bothered, for some reason, that the illustrations were not done by the writer - I'm not sure, but the ...more
However, if you are looking for some sort of frame or conclusion, this isn't the piece for you, and I found myself bothered, for some reason, that the illustrations were not done by the writer - I'm not sure, but the ...more
Dec 12, 2016
Will
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
finished-in-2016,
poetry
Vivek Shraya is adept and skilled at using short poetic passages to convey the many feelings entangled in adolescence. I especially loved this volume's detailed descriptions of being a youth learning about things for the first time, tune in for an especially beautiful way of dealing with depression and suicide. Shraya's words are paired with beautiful drawings from illustrator Juliana Neufeld, creating a richer story about youth and growing up. I enjoyed Shraya's She of the Mountains more than
...more
This is a great insight into a different nationality and culture; their expectation and values. I was hoeber confused by the movement of the story. At first it seemed we were growing up with the main character. but then we seemed to go back to a younger age and then back again. For it to be such a short book I was shock how I lost track.
I loved how certain things were implied. They didn't have to be said directly but you still knew. Showing somethings are the same regardless of culture and ...more
I loved how certain things were implied. They didn't have to be said directly but you still knew. Showing somethings are the same regardless of culture and ...more
Jul 27, 2014
Barbara
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
bullies,
cultural-identity,
self-esteem,
families,
community,
international,
school,
identity,
humor,
hair
A series of short stories and illustrations describe coming of age in a Hindu family in Canada. The stories explore themes surrounding gender identity, sexuality, race, religion and appearance. As Vivek struggles to figure out exactly who he is and where he belongs, he contends with family expectations and school bullying. The perspective provided by Vivek's stories is unique, honest, and compelling. I wish there had been more stories and that they had been linked in a more obvious way, though.
...more
This is a weird little book, but it's pretty impossible not to like it. These 20 short stories each begin with a striking illustration done in a really cool and colorful style. The stories themselves are all very short--usually just a few pages--and they're clearly autobiographical, despite being labeled as fictional. They begin at birth and follow the main character through young adulthood as s/he tries to figure out how to fit in as the Hindi son of immigrants in Canada and grapples with
...more
This book tackles some big issues with grace, the drawings are lovely, and the characters feel very fleshed out. Theres a lot of ambiguity in the story, and it doesnt come to a particularly satisfying conclusion. In fact, it doesnt really feel like one story, but instead a series of moments held together. Which is fine, but its an interesting book between a childrens book and a young adult book, which makes it a little hard to get into. And I wish the end had been expanded on a little more. The
...more
God Loves Hair was originally self published by musician Vivek Shraya. Now Vancouver's Arsenal Pulp Press is releasing this collection of beautifully illustrated stories that detail the life of an Indo-Canadian child who is navigating the immigrant experience, parental expectations, puberty and sexuality. God Loves Hair will resonate with any reader who has felt that they don't quite fit in to the world in a way that is expected. Painful, tender and visually arresting, this is a book that like
...more
I liked the writing so I'll definitely give She of the Mountains a read. This book can be read by teens and adults alike, maybe even younger if you're ready for some dark themes being lightly touched upon.
Great little vignettes on growing up queer, genderqueer, Indian, and Hindu. The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter were beautiful. I think the format would be a tough sell to the target audience (teens), but I can see some adults really loving this. The tone felt a little too emotionally detached for me at times, but that's just personal preference.
Jul 06, 2015
Marlies
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
summer-reading-2015
Honest, yet humorous. Growing up is hard, and Shraya tells how his teen years were especially hard because he didn't quite understand himself or fit in. This book is a helpful reminder to adults that teens need people to listen to them and not to trivialize their experiences. Also, the artwork was fantastic!
I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. Sensitive stories about sexuality, race, religion, immigrant experience, bullying, are heartbreaking at times and very real. An important book for older YA who struggle with LGBTQ issues, or any of the issues which the author touches.
I wanted to enjoy this collection of vignettes more, but the disjointed nature kept me at arm's length. Perhaps intentionally, since many of the stories have to do with the narrator's own alienation, but the whole thing just felt kind of flat.
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Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, poetry, fiction, visual art, and film. A Publishing Triangle Award winner, her books include I'm Afraid of Men, even this page is white, The Boy & The Bindi, and She of the Mountains. Shraya is one half of music duo Too Attached and founder of publishing imprint VS. Books. She teaches creative writing at the
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