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gmp's review
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Child abuse and Trafficking
laporziuncula's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Oh goodness this was dreadful. I picked this up, to be honest, because I loved the cover š. And I also tend to enjoy dystopian fiction.
It started off interesting enough for the first couple of chapters, but I never really got into it, and never connected with the characters. Fairly quickly I was finding myself zoning out and skimming more than reading. Itās VERY slow paced. (After struggling with keeping my attention on it, I tried switching to audiobook and the narration is insanely slow too. I sped it up to 1.30x and that was STILL very slow but I couldnāt speed it up more than that without it being too distorted.) I usually enjoy slower paced books but this was rough.
Itās a dystopian world but I never understood why or how it got that way. The plot meanders aimlessly, is super difficult to follow and itās very depressing. You expect a dystopian novel to be depressing to an extent of course, but thereās usually a POINT to it, and there never seemed to be one in this. It was JUST depressing.
It reminded me of James Joyce but with more punctuation, and not on purpose.
It started off interesting enough for the first couple of chapters, but I never really got into it, and never connected with the characters. Fairly quickly I was finding myself zoning out and skimming more than reading. Itās VERY slow paced. (After struggling with keeping my attention on it, I tried switching to audiobook and the narration is insanely slow too. I sped it up to 1.30x and that was STILL very slow but I couldnāt speed it up more than that without it being too distorted.) I usually enjoy slower paced books but this was rough.
Itās a dystopian world but I never understood why or how it got that way. The plot meanders aimlessly, is super difficult to follow and itās very depressing. You expect a dystopian novel to be depressing to an extent of course, but thereās usually a POINT to it, and there never seemed to be one in this. It was JUST depressing.
It reminded me of James Joyce but with more punctuation, and not on purpose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Drug use, Suicide, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Bullying, and Slavery
creativerunnings's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? Yes
5.0
āI Cheerfully Refuseā is a beautifully crafted dystopian story taking us on protagonist Rainyās journey as he sails the Great Lakes when life as he knows it doesn't fit an ever changing world any longer.
The story begins with a picturesque romance between Lark and Rainy who live a happy married life in Icebridge and have lots of love to give to one another. But the idyll is short lived.
āWeād got past our early days together and no common warnings had flashed. Not that Iād have noticedāI was lost already and wanted to spend it all on her, the days and nights, the whole foresee-able.ā
Lark runs a bookstore and comes across a rare edition never seen before. Kellan, the person who brings it in, is on the run from a drug kingpin dealing suicide pills and stays with Lark and Rainy temporarily.
And so it goes that the darkness reaches their home. Grief and threat ensues, and Rainy sets sail in search of Lark, of lost love, of the world as it once was.
The story is a beautiful mix of dystopian novel, mystery, and even a bit of a thriller. It held my suspense throughout.
But more than just those well executed tropes, I enjoyed the lyrical writing, the beautiful descriptions of nature, the stunning way the emotional journey was told. While the dystopian aspect of the book gives the impression that people aren't really all that alive, that humanity is drawing to a close, it's that inner world in Rainy, Lark, and a girl named Sol that's full of magic and wonder.
The book also weaves literature into the narrative as a forgotten and even mistrusted art, making this novel a multifaceted work of literary fiction with many beautiful layers.
āBy this time of course reading itself was slipping into shadow. There was a sinuous mistrust of text and its defenders. The country had recently elected its first proudly illiterate president, A MAN UNSPOILT as he constantly bellowed, and this chimp was wildly popular everywhere he went.ā
I loved this gem. It's quiet. It's powerful. Beautiful, lyrical, special.
I'm so grateful to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for the Advance Reader's Copy. I quoted a few beautiful passages of the text - these are subject to change in the final publication.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Classism, Death, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Drug abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Grief, and Murder
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