Reviews with content warning for Death - The Employees

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Employees by Olga Ravn

36 reviews

heyheyhaley's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

How does one go about rating a book that was good yet you did not enjoy?

I always have this problem when I find books that I can acknowledge are good and have good themes and are well written, but I did not enjoy reading nor do I want to read similar books. I tend to just rate upon my enjoyment with the acknowledgement of its good features

The Employees cemented that poetry is not for me. It explored some very interesting ideas regarding what it means to be human and feelings of isolation but while I could like individual poems or lines, I could not fully connect as poetry is not a medium I enjoy.

3 stars but it would be higher if I liked poetry.

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mirandalikesbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Once I settled into the poetry of the writing and the pov for the whole book being statements from separate people, I was strapped in and ready for the rest. I think this was an extremely thoughtful lens on how similar experiences can impact people differently. Power dynamics and class dynamics were examined in such a clever and memorable way.

I've never read a book that compares to it in style. So much was packed into <200 pages. It has incredible re-read value.

If you are someone who needs a plot and an answer and a loveable main character (or any main character at all), this is definitely not the book for you. This book will make you think, confuse you at times, punch you in the gut, and make you really think about the human condition.

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plainjanereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Poignant read, gave me a lot of space to think for such a short read.

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missmali's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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smolfem's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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maeverose's review against another edition

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3.0

I don’t know that I fully understood it but this book is an experience. It feels kind of like a weird nightmare or dream that leaves you feeling a bit gross and unsettled. I’m not sure if I liked it or not but I think I did? I’ll have to re read this sometime.

It’s very abstract and nothing is explained to the reader. There’s multiple povs but few of them are named and we don’t have any way of knowing how many there are or when exactly it switches to a new person. This is done intentionally. It’s very disorienting, and I was left at the end not fully knowing what I just read. I’m pretty sure the main takeaway is that people, whether human or not in this case, are not meant to spend their lives working and are meant to live for themselves. How we need connections to other people and to nature and the world around us. It’s not natural for any living thing to dedicate their entire life to work. That’s not living. And of course exploring what it means to be human and whether AI can become human, which yes is an overdone theme in sci fi but personally I’m not sick of it yet.

Definitely check content warnings. Body horror, trypophobia, and questioning of reality are the main things I would say to be aware of.

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lilybear3's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-paced

3.75

I added this book to my TBR so long ago that I forgot what it was about/why I added it. For me, this book is a slow burn at first and then it really ramps up. It's told in Statements, each of those being 1-2 pages long. This translation is captivating and flowed so well. I wrote down so many quotes I thought were incredible. I don't remember if A.I. was becoming more mainstream in 2018, when this was published/translated, but if it wasn't, this book was ahead of the curve. I am very interested in what it means to be human or not, artificial intelligence, technological advancements & morality issues, all that good stuff.

I love that the statements are so short because we only get glimpses of the humans' and humanoids' stories. I also love that not everything is explained, the reader gets to speculate what is happening and what the objects are. It just adds to the mysteriousness.

This is probably because the song just came out and I've been obsessed with it that I'm making this connection, but oh my god does it fit well. V.A.N. by Bad Omens and Poppy is an awesome song that's about A.I. taking over and learning human behavior.

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