Loot
Title: Loot by Tania James
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Culture: Indian, French
Themes: World travel, Legacy, Love, Strong male lead
Legacy, Love and Looting
A legacy filled life journey, Loot by Tania James tells the story about a hero’s quest, love, and a young artist coming of age through the most difficult times of his life. With an exuberant heist adventure that traces the bloody legacy of colonialism across two continents and fifty years Loot is a feat in storytelling!
I originally bought this book because of the vibrant and beautiful cover; I couldn’t pass up a book with a tiger on its cover! But little did I know that I would take-on Abbas’ coming-of-age journey from India to France to England and the diverse cast of characters he meets along with way. I loved the diverse characters who were easy to fall in love with, who moved through challenging situations caused by others in the form of kingdom, greed and legacy. With an easy-read fast pace, multi-character point of view and pictures – yes, it has pictures so I’m officially calling it a ‘picture book’, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I kept thinking I knew what would happen next to Abbas, but James was quick to change perspectives and provide a backstory from a different point of view that intertwined with Abbas’ story so well. From the tyrant worry-wort king to a sailor who just wants to live vicariously through his seaward father, each has a deep impact on Abbas and turns his life upside. And a heist I thought would go perfectly goes completely wrong….because of love of course.
I was not sure of the plot when I first started reading this novel and had a difficult time figuring out what this story was truly going to be about but I’m glad that I stuck with it. Rich with adventure if historical accuracy with the English conquering the Sultan and the French – India relations, I felt myself wanting just a little bit more from the story. I think I was looking for that ‘1 big thing’ to happen but found my interest spread over many stories and many characters. Despite this, if you’re looking for a diverse adventure novel with multi-person points of view, I would recommend Loot by Tania James.
If you like Loot, then you’ll like The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.
