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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Surprisingly a very cute book. The characters endear themselves to the reader in a very unique and impressive way.
There is a Lotttt of detail. This helps with the humanization of the characters and allows the reader to develop empathy for the terrorist but however it makes the book a much longer read than a 300 page book sensibly should be (at least for myself).
I really enjoyed the ending of the story.The invasion was both jarring and expected in a way that allowed the reader to sympathize with those in the house, knowing their captivity could not go on forever and nonetheless wishing it would. I HATED the epilogue. It was unnecessary. It make no sense. There was no build up. I really did not like it. I would have preferred they just leave the book on the end chapter no matter how jarring that may have been.
All in all, a very good book but a pretty slow read unless you can get reaaally interested in the dynamics of a lot of mildly interesting characters (and, to Patchet’s credit, some quite interesting characters) pretty much immediately. Excellent plot set up makes for an inherently interesting book that is surprisingly sweet. I recommend reading just be prepared for it to take a bit.
There is a Lotttt of detail. This helps with the humanization of the characters and allows the reader to develop empathy for the terrorist but however it makes the book a much longer read than a 300 page book sensibly should be (at least for myself).
I really enjoyed the ending of the story.
All in all, a very good book but a pretty slow read unless you can get reaaally interested in the dynamics of a lot of mildly interesting characters (and, to Patchet’s credit, some quite interesting characters) pretty much immediately. Excellent plot set up makes for an inherently interesting book that is surprisingly sweet. I recommend reading just be prepared for it to take a bit.
A utopian tragicomedy, exploring a situation which is not unlike the closed self-perpetuating biospheres sometimes made as science projects. Bel Canto is good in a very small range of situations and mindsets, but if you are in the right place at the right time, it can be very, very good. That is, this is a book that demands to be met on its own terms, in which the country remains anonymous, the subjectivity and variance of human taste is unquestioned, and in which the power dynamics of the world created within are allowed to be flexible, that is, if you flinch at Beauty and the Beast, I can't imagine you finding too much beauty here, in a hostage situation. If you are willing to overlook the preposterousness of it all and the fact that this is an appropriated real event, then, yeah, incredible read.
Lengthy disclaimer aside, all four of the main characters (Carmen, Gen, Roxanne, Mr. Hosokawa) all have wonderful arcs and feel like a cemented family by the somewhat devastating ending. The beauty of the moment, whatever moment that happens to be, is intimately preserved, and the prose elevates the already intriguing character dynamics of what I would call the most dysfunctional found family under the sun just by circumstance to a kind of poetic vision of international community and hope. Sometimes it almost waxes too poetic on the world its made, as Carmen tends to do, but there's an undeniable intrigue to it. I kept wondering, "Can they possibly keep this up?" Yeah. Yeah, they can. Going in blind was also a huge boon, since I had no idea what was happening until around page 50, when I figured out where we'd be for the rest of the book, and that was a pretty singular experience I wish I could give/recommend to other people, but if you've opened this page and scrolled to this review you might be too far gone. I'd recommend this to people who liked A Little Life but felt its masochism a little too grating-- like A Little Life, this book lives and dies by the characters and the internal worlds they construct around trying situations. This one is a little broader and has a really impressive side cast, but I feel "elevated/literary """realism"""", or maybe "magical thinking realism", would be the best way to describe it.
Lengthy disclaimer aside, all four of the main characters (Carmen, Gen, Roxanne, Mr. Hosokawa) all have wonderful arcs and feel like a cemented family by the somewhat devastating ending. The beauty of the moment, whatever moment that happens to be, is intimately preserved, and the prose elevates the already intriguing character dynamics of what I would call the most dysfunctional found family under the sun just by circumstance to a kind of poetic vision of international community and hope. Sometimes it almost waxes too poetic on the world its made, as Carmen tends to do, but there's an undeniable intrigue to it. I kept wondering, "Can they possibly keep this up?" Yeah. Yeah, they can. Going in blind was also a huge boon, since I had no idea what was happening until around page 50, when I figured out where we'd be for the rest of the book, and that was a pretty singular experience I wish I could give/recommend to other people, but if you've opened this page and scrolled to this review you might be too far gone. I'd recommend this to people who liked A Little Life but felt its masochism a little too grating-- like A Little Life, this book lives and dies by the characters and the internal worlds they construct around trying situations. This one is a little broader and has a really impressive side cast, but I feel "elevated/literary """realism"""", or maybe "magical thinking realism", would be the best way to describe it.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was amazing! I started reading this and immediately I was enraptured by Patchett's story telling. She writes with a passion that sends her readers deep inside the imaginary world she's created and makes them wish to stay inside that world. I didn't want the story to finish! The characters are beautiful, and the relationships that develop between each of them are as complex and fascinating. And just as there were many languages in that mansion there are that many layers to understanding this book. I was hooked from start to finish. Though I must say, I wish that she did away with the epilogue.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was so ready to love this book, despite its flaws. Love it for its intricate portrayal of a ridiculous story of ridiculous relationships that form in a ridiculous hostage situation. Love it for the tenderness that sprouted from Stockholm syndrome, even though it took forever to get to that tenderness. And then the epilogue had to go and ruin the whole thing right at the cusp of the books redemption. Ya hate to see it.