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christinesreads's review against another edition
challenging
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
briesespieces's review against another edition
3.0
"But the effects were hidden, evident only in the sterility of their art, which continued to feed off the vitality of other cultures, and in the dissolution of their consciousness into dead objects: the plastic and neon, the concrete and steel.Hollow and lifeless as a witchery clay figure. And what little still remained to white people was shriveled like a seed hoarded too long, shrunken past its time, and split open now, to expose a fragile, pale leaf stem, perfectly formed and dead.
3.5 stars. I won't lie, this book deserves more than 3.5 stars. Probably 5 stars. But there are a few things which did not really sit well with me. First was the way the story was told. I get the whole ceremony and storytelling theme but i found the nonlinear narrative extremely disorienting and confusing. It was almost as if the whole book and plot were a big vague referent. Also, i found it really hard to connect with the characters. I really wanted to. Like i really tried but I felt so indifferent and i partly blame the narrative.
Secondly, some parts were just too overbearingly descriptive and it made me just speed up my reading so my agony would end.
All in all, this is a really great book, and maybe in the future , i might take it up to read again (very unlikely) but slowly and comprehensively this time.
3.5 stars. I won't lie, this book deserves more than 3.5 stars. Probably 5 stars. But there are a few things which did not really sit well with me. First was the way the story was told. I get the whole ceremony and storytelling theme but i found the nonlinear narrative extremely disorienting and confusing. It was almost as if the whole book and plot were a big vague referent. Also, i found it really hard to connect with the characters. I really wanted to. Like i really tried but I felt so indifferent and i partly blame the narrative.
Secondly, some parts were just too overbearingly descriptive and it made me just speed up my reading so my agony would end.
All in all, this is a really great book, and maybe in the future , i might take it up to read again (very unlikely) but slowly and comprehensively this time.
pterodaddy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lelia_t's review against another edition
4.0
A powerful book. Not necessarily a pleasure to read - it’s one long pain song, especially in the beginning. But the aliveness of the world made of stories, and Tayo’s effort to find his place in the long story of his people and all people, are deeply moving.
This is a book to sit with for a while. It converses beautifully with two other books I’m reading now - Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore and Hermione Lee’s biography of Virginia Woolf. And there’s a powerful sense of the way time moves in spirals, circles, layers - however you want to describe it - so that it can seem to bend back on itself in timeless presence. Definitely worth reading and rereading.
This is a book to sit with for a while. It converses beautifully with two other books I’m reading now - Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore and Hermione Lee’s biography of Virginia Woolf. And there’s a powerful sense of the way time moves in spirals, circles, layers - however you want to describe it - so that it can seem to bend back on itself in timeless presence. Definitely worth reading and rereading.
waynediane's review against another edition
3.0
I would like to give it a higher rating, but it was a little difficult to follow. Enjoyed the story, but it might be geared more towards the Native Americans. Unfortunately, while this is written in the 70's it has relevance today in that the main character is half Native American half Caucasian coming back from WWII Japanese prisoner and treated back in his homeland similarly. Not welcomed back by the Whites nor by the Native Americans a displaced soul. He has PTSD, which back then (1970's)would not have been acknowledged, but is clearly evident today.
celestialbuddy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
hlee1534's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jillian_mon's review against another edition
Truthfully not a style I enjoyed reading, I’m aware it’s told quite poetically but I did not want to read this story even after 80 pages.
bookswithniizzze's review against another edition
1.0
DNF because the book just wasn't that captivating. I didn't like the style of how it was written although the story did have a lot of potential.
By the way, I sincerely think this book needs a trigger warning, the torture scenes are incredibly graphic and detailed. Honestly, I was not prepared to deal with this kind of thing and almost threw up. It is also one of the reasons why I did not finish the book, I was simply unable to proceed to read this.
Additionally, I am kind of disgusted by the scenes with the Night Swan. I started to dislike Tayo's character mainly because of that scene. Like how can someone love his uncle and simultanously f*ck his uncle's lover. I am not okay.
By the way, I sincerely think this book needs a trigger warning, the torture scenes are incredibly graphic and detailed. Honestly, I was not prepared to deal with this kind of thing and almost threw up. It is also one of the reasons why I did not finish the book, I was simply unable to proceed to read this.
Additionally, I am kind of disgusted by the scenes with the Night Swan. I started to dislike Tayo's character mainly because of that scene. Like how can someone love his uncle and simultanously f*ck his uncle's lover. I am not okay.