Reviews

A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding by Amanda Svensson

steph_jones89's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

kittylake's review against another edition

3.0

*Booker International Longlist 2023*

3.5 stars. I enjoyed the sense of humour but I found a lot of the themes dull and in the end nothing really went anywhere. The triplet 'twist' seemed to have an obvious resolution masquerading as a profound/shocking one... I didn't dislike it but I didn't like the execution. The final description of Violette (and comparison to the Francesca Woodman photo) I really appreciated but in the end there was too much lacking for me to truly love this book.

kadiereilly's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

mr_shoemonger's review against another edition

inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

ellie_26's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

willowcat's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed sections of this book, particularly the early focus on the male character and his strange workplace (and the moral monkey). The sections in the remote island were also enjoyable. However the early reveal of a possible baby swap hinted at a mystery element of the book that was not followed through on. Although parts were interesting I didn’t feel that the separate strands of the storyline joined into a cohesive whole. There were a lot of ideas in this book but I didn’t feel that they were fully explored to any conclusion. I’m not sure if something was lost in the translation. Overall an interesting read but ultimately not very satisfying.
Thanks to pigeonhole for the chance to read.

efamared's review against another edition

funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

knitter22's review against another edition

4.0

I'm usually off to a good start if I like a book's title, and A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding is a terrific one. This novel also has a lot of other things going for it - a unique premise, a strong translation, quirky characters, its strangeness, humor, and a place on the Booker Longlist. Even with all these, I'm still not sure how to rate or review it. So I'm just going to go with how this book made me feel. Sometimes I was amazed, sometimes I was puzzled, and I was often confused, but overall, it was still quite a good book. It's good to shake up your reading once in a while and A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding can do that!

booksnpunks's review against another edition

DNF 31%
I hate this book so much please do not talk to me about it

wayward's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25