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sbnich's review
3.0
I wanted to love this book. In places, I did love the book - lyrical and tragic, shaped by two factions, unwilling and unable to see just how alike they are with their covered women, richly spiced food, and intertwined histories.
The second half was better than the first, but alas, the heart of the story, a tragedy really, was obscured by gratuitous, extraneous nonsense. It was almost as Sacks had a need to purge certain things from herself, weaving them into the narrative like detritus collected in a flood of thought.
That purge, the detritus, detracted so heavily from the book: the weak, insipid Vera, the explicitly extraneous Amir, the vapid Rachel and Emily, obscured and detracted from the narrative so heavily it was confusing.
Disappointed, even as there were some beautiful, thought provoking parts.
The second half was better than the first, but alas, the heart of the story, a tragedy really, was obscured by gratuitous, extraneous nonsense. It was almost as Sacks had a need to purge certain things from herself, weaving them into the narrative like detritus collected in a flood of thought.
That purge, the detritus, detracted so heavily from the book: the weak, insipid Vera, the explicitly extraneous Amir, the vapid Rachel and Emily, obscured and detracted from the narrative so heavily it was confusing.
Disappointed, even as there were some beautiful, thought provoking parts.
meowligator's review against another edition
3.0
several remarkable chapters after a miserable slog through the book's inertia. The last fourth of the book redeems it from 1 or 2 stars.
i_blamebookit's review
4.0
I liked this book. Normally I find many POVs in a novel difficult to follow but I enjoyed how they were woven together. I liked the writing style and as always I love characters that are complex. Some were harder to appreciate than others. It was not an easy read, but it was good.
rosenaughtin's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
5.0
ksallaz's review against another edition
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
estonereads's review
4.0
City of a Thousand Gates is a book that fits in with current events. It’s a book that I had to muster up courage to read. I’m mustering up the courage to write and post this review. To open myself up to an opinion that doesn’t quite follow the norm.
City of a Thousand Gates takes place in the aftermath of two events: one that strikes fear and hurt into the Israeli people and one that does the same to the Palestinians. Through the lens of roughly 30 main characters, you’ll get a story of pride, love, hate, and hope from every angle. I don’t want to summarize more than that because I think everyone should face this story with an open mind and open heart.
If there’s one thing that I got out of this book, it’s that we’re all humans with human emotions that can change depending on the time and place. It doesn’t matter who we are or where we come from. We all can understand fear and love and anger. The tension between Israel and Palestine is so tough to put into words, but Sacks manages to do this through a myriad of POVs. It sounds cliche to say that it’s nuanced, but that’s the honest truth. Throughout this book, there were moments when I cringed because of my personal beliefs but also moments where I stood beside both the Israeli and Palestinian characters. City of a Thousand Gates is messy. The characters are flawed. But through it all you see the power of a mother’s love, pride in community, the fight for power, and so much more. I will say there were a lot of sex scenes in this book that kind of threw me off track. I don’t think it was truly necessary, but it didn’t change my feelings on the book. Also, I want to give a brief shout out to the beautiful writing. Even though I kept referring to the cast of characters guide early on during my reading, I came to know these characters intimately for the little time I spent with each of them. With a mix of long and short chapters, I was able to understand them on a holistic level.
City of a Thousand Gates takes place in the aftermath of two events: one that strikes fear and hurt into the Israeli people and one that does the same to the Palestinians. Through the lens of roughly 30 main characters, you’ll get a story of pride, love, hate, and hope from every angle. I don’t want to summarize more than that because I think everyone should face this story with an open mind and open heart.
If there’s one thing that I got out of this book, it’s that we’re all humans with human emotions that can change depending on the time and place. It doesn’t matter who we are or where we come from. We all can understand fear and love and anger. The tension between Israel and Palestine is so tough to put into words, but Sacks manages to do this through a myriad of POVs. It sounds cliche to say that it’s nuanced, but that’s the honest truth. Throughout this book, there were moments when I cringed because of my personal beliefs but also moments where I stood beside both the Israeli and Palestinian characters. City of a Thousand Gates is messy. The characters are flawed. But through it all you see the power of a mother’s love, pride in community, the fight for power, and so much more. I will say there were a lot of sex scenes in this book that kind of threw me off track. I don’t think it was truly necessary, but it didn’t change my feelings on the book. Also, I want to give a brief shout out to the beautiful writing. Even though I kept referring to the cast of characters guide early on during my reading, I came to know these characters intimately for the little time I spent with each of them. With a mix of long and short chapters, I was able to understand them on a holistic level.
jennylynnwillow's review
DNF. I wanted to like this one- maybe I’m just not sophisticated enough. The premise is a little bit like “Crash”- MANY slightly interrelated characters. The writing is laugh out loud funny at times but, its choppy style, combined with the MANY characters made for a lot of re-reading paragraphs and sections. I just couldn’t get into it. Quit at page 125ish.