What do readers think of The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji? Write your own review.

Overall, this was a very interesting, beautifully written book. The story was compelling and the cultural perspective was very interesting. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5-- the frequent shifting of 'voice' was at times disruptive to the flow of the story. It was necessary to pause and re-think the family relationships too often. However, even with the flaws, it is a book that I was glad to have read and which I would recommend to friends.

I felt like I was reading two different writing styles within one cover of a book.The chapters with the voice of Sadiq and Deena; with much of their story taking place in Pakistan were delightful! Those chapters were well written, descriptive, and I loved them. The title "The Sweetness of Tears" was perfect for them. Sadly, much of the rest of the book was just average writing that brought the whole reading experience to a disappointing letdown. I think the author has true talent that we only saw glimpses of in this book.

I found The Sweetness of Tears to be a thoroughly engrossing book. The book is told from the viewpoints of different characters in the story, and although occasionally I had to remind myself whose story I was reading, I found them all to be compelling and very real. While the author tackles a number of different topics: politics, war, family, religion and friendship, by the end she succeeds in tying everything together in both a thought provoking and thoroughly satisfying way.

A wonderful book! A blending of two different worlds--Christian and Muslim. It is just a lovely story. I will recommend it to my book club.

When brown-eyed Jo March discovers that it is genetically impossible for her blue-eyed parents to have produced her and her twin brother, she seeks answers to her true parentage. Thus unfolds a multi-generational and multi-cultural story which is told in the voice of many people and in so doing unfolds layer by layer in a most enjoyable way. In addition to a captivating story, I enjoyed reading about the culture of Pakistan which is central to this book. I was totally engrossed in the story, but was very disappointed when the author conjured up two far fetched coincidences with regards to the Iraqi war. While I share her views on the subject of the war, it was not relevant to the story. Those views could be better served in another book, should she choose to write it. I would hope that these "coincidences" could be handled in the editing. It is for this reason that I rate this book a 4 rather than a 5.

I really wanted to like this book because I loved her first novel, "The writing on my forehead". I many ways the themes of both books are similar. Both deal with family lies, ties that bind, cultural differences and prejudices and love. My problems with the book were the predictability of the story and the lack of complex depth to the characters. This author clearly has a message to deliver--"don't judge a book by it's cover", but she ends up sacrificing her story (which could have been very interesting) to fit the pieces together.

I so wanted to love this book. Combining religions , cultural traditions= , family dynamics.. (very extended family) and world events, this novel had the potential to be a timely portrayal of current issues before us today.

What kept this novel from being great for me was the method of telling the stories. I found it very confusing to go back and forth between characters with no time indicators. Having to stop and re-figure, who, and when broke the fluidity of the story for me.

I laughed and cried my way through The Sweetness of Tears. Jo, the main character, is a young woman who discovers an evolving family and encounters both Christian and Muslim societies in far flung corners of the world as she delves into family secrets in a search for her own identity. She and all the characters are clearly defined and true to themselves. Some of the passages are achingly beautifully written - almost poetic as love, despair, tragedy and redemption are presented.

Because the book is written in first person by the various characters over three generations, you need to pay attention to who is speaking as you start each chapter. I did need to keep a list of all the characters and their relationship to each other as the book progressed. That said, the story carries you along easily. Especially helpful is the glossary of unfamiliar terms. Book groups will find a multitude of topics for discussion. I give this book 5 1/2 stars out of 5! Once I started reading I needed to quickly continue, staying up late to finish. Now I need to reread the book to savor the characters and their story.