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greavuem's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
tense
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Drug abuse, and Infertility
Minor: Homophobia
thewellbitch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don't know what to say about this book. It's unique and I'm glad to have read it because it's a whole-ass experience, but at the same time I don't think I can recommend it because I can't think of anyone who would enjoy it lmao. The writing is poetic and musical, the characters are vibrant, the plot was interesting, but it was still hard. Listening to the audiobook at the same time I was reading was definitely the right choice for me, I couldn't have finished it if it was one or the other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Infidelity
whatannikareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
this book definitely fits under the "I've never read anything like this and I probably never will again" category. you can tell the author poured her entire heart and soul into the book. I so appreciate the uniqueness of almost all elements of the book: magical realism told through a Caribbean cultural lens, the intertwining of (over) four different character storylines, the colorful intricate descriptions that set this story apart from any other. it was like reading murakami on drugs. the deliberate choice of words was evident in how the Popisho islands played out in my mind. I love that buildings were green and lungs were on attached to people's hips and moths were consumed as a form of addictive drugs.
the author was ambitious in her work, and I think that is why it's not for everyone, because you must be ambitious to finish the book. it took a lot of brain power to keep up with the names of characters, jumping across different timelines without warning and the switching of character perspectives. it is a slow read and at times it made me want to put it down. i think the ending was a bit quick compared to the rest of the book, given the fact it essentially takes place over 1 day. but since it took a lot of energy to complete it, I do feel satisfied in not having given up on it.
the author was ambitious in her work, and I think that is why it's not for everyone, because you must be ambitious to finish the book. it took a lot of brain power to keep up with the names of characters, jumping across different timelines without warning and the switching of character perspectives. it is a slow read and at times it made me want to put it down. i think the ending was a bit quick compared to the rest of the book, given the fact it essentially takes place over 1 day. but since it took a lot of energy to complete it, I do feel satisfied in not having given up on it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Body horror, Drug use, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Suicide
madelynfrank's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
I got this book from the library because it had a pretty cover. And now it’s one of my top favorites.
Beautiful prose, interesting and fun setting. Many extremely unique and strong characters and I love them all. It was a joyful escapist magical fantasy that still spoke on food scarcity, complex colonialism, addiction, misogyny. Smart and special and I wish I had more.
Beautiful prose, interesting and fun setting. Many extremely unique and strong characters and I love them all. It was a joyful escapist magical fantasy that still spoke on food scarcity, complex colonialism, addiction, misogyny. Smart and special and I wish I had more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Addiction, Classism, Death, Genocide, Grief, Alcoholism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, and Infidelity
jennikreads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
lavenderlemonade's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book is visceral and luscious in a way I haven’t encountered before. Colourful and baffling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Addiction, Infidelity, Excrement, Grief, and Infertility
quirme01's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book felt like a fever dream. At some times it was vivid and exciting and at other times, I had a hard time following and was a bit lost.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Miscarriage, Suicide, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Infidelity, Infertility, Homophobia, and Drug use
Minor: Vomit and Grief
infectiousreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
Popisho
Leone Ross
★★★★★
"Generally, men told stories to boast, but women were different. They wanted to look at their words in the air and extract the meaning, and if you shut up and listened, they’d tell you very interesting things indeed."
In this delightful tale, Popisho, you will enter a magical world so vividly that it will fill you with awe, fear, and enchantment: "The warehouse yawned before her, like church. The walls, a perfect, pale blue." Though the experience with Popisho reminds you of the corruptions of the world, it also makes you feel young and free of them. It offers elements that no other book has been able to provide - regardless of its genre. The world of Popisho is rich with natural, tangible experiences.
Popisho provides an interconnected storyline, interwoven throughout a series of individual stories that are quite engaging; the audiobook only enlarges this world. I closed my eyes - often - and drifted into Popisho connecting with its voice, and magical aura 🏔
"Xavier hadn’t realized a grown woman could be so soft-eyed and succulent, especially this one, who scared grown men." Because each character's point of view is integrated and enchantingly conveyed, it becomes a whole, cohesive, familial structure that penetrates your brain and resides there even when you are distant from the book's realm. Popisho is a narrative of gentrification, feminism, masculinity, epochs, and tenderness, as well as an exploration of the in-between: "Most Popisho people left their doors unlocked, but this was Intiasar-Brenteninton property and things weren’t how they used to be."
There is an element of cultural influence to this fairy tale, giving it a fresh and robust nature. There are words in Popisho that seem ambiguous at first, but as the words, characters, and love flow through it, this ambiguity takes on a greater significance. I feel that I am being embraced by a dream that I never wish to leave. I am gutted that, now, having completed Popisho, I now exist as an outsider to it. I miss it terribly so, so I will leave with this: "It seemed outrageous to feel happy, but she was.”
Leone Ross
★★★★★
"Generally, men told stories to boast, but women were different. They wanted to look at their words in the air and extract the meaning, and if you shut up and listened, they’d tell you very interesting things indeed."
In this delightful tale, Popisho, you will enter a magical world so vividly that it will fill you with awe, fear, and enchantment: "The warehouse yawned before her, like church. The walls, a perfect, pale blue." Though the experience with Popisho reminds you of the corruptions of the world, it also makes you feel young and free of them. It offers elements that no other book has been able to provide - regardless of its genre. The world of Popisho is rich with natural, tangible experiences.
Popisho provides an interconnected storyline, interwoven throughout a series of individual stories that are quite engaging; the audiobook only enlarges this world. I closed my eyes - often - and drifted into Popisho connecting with its voice, and magical aura 🏔
"Xavier hadn’t realized a grown woman could be so soft-eyed and succulent, especially this one, who scared grown men." Because each character's point of view is integrated and enchantingly conveyed, it becomes a whole, cohesive, familial structure that penetrates your brain and resides there even when you are distant from the book's realm. Popisho is a narrative of gentrification, feminism, masculinity, epochs, and tenderness, as well as an exploration of the in-between: "Most Popisho people left their doors unlocked, but this was Intiasar-Brenteninton property and things weren’t how they used to be."
There is an element of cultural influence to this fairy tale, giving it a fresh and robust nature. There are words in Popisho that seem ambiguous at first, but as the words, characters, and love flow through it, this ambiguity takes on a greater significance. I feel that I am being embraced by a dream that I never wish to leave. I am gutted that, now, having completed Popisho, I now exist as an outsider to it. I miss it terribly so, so I will leave with this: "It seemed outrageous to feel happy, but she was.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
hollyd19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reading Popisho felt like a tripping headfirst into an adult version of The Phantom Tollbooth set to a soundtrack of "For The Benefit of Mr. Kite."
Set in a fictional Caribbean archipelago called Popisho, this delightful and kaleidoscopic book takes place over the course of a day and follows a chorus of magical characters as the impending wedding of the Governor’s daughter approaches. At the center of it all is Xavier Redchoose, the macaenus (a role appointed-by-the-gods to prepare a meal for every Popisho resident over his tenure).
This was easily one of the most creative books I’ve ever read. Everyone in Popisho is born with “cors,” another word for some sort of magical endowment. But not in a predictable witchcraft/sorcery way. Cors are as varied as people; some people have extremely long limbs, others can detect when you lie, others can change the colors of random objects. Author Leone Ross also committed impressively to world-building. There were so many invented words that I gave up on looking up definitions and just leaned in to the disorientation. And every plot turn felt completely original and entrancingly chaotic.
Set in a fictional Caribbean archipelago called Popisho, this delightful and kaleidoscopic book takes place over the course of a day and follows a chorus of magical characters as the impending wedding of the Governor’s daughter approaches. At the center of it all is Xavier Redchoose, the macaenus (a role appointed-by-the-gods to prepare a meal for every Popisho resident over his tenure).
This was easily one of the most creative books I’ve ever read. Everyone in Popisho is born with “cors,” another word for some sort of magical endowment. But not in a predictable witchcraft/sorcery way. Cors are as varied as people; some people have extremely long limbs, others can detect when you lie, others can change the colors of random objects. Author Leone Ross also committed impressively to world-building. There were so many invented words that I gave up on looking up definitions and just leaned in to the disorientation. And every plot turn felt completely original and entrancingly chaotic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Drug use
Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Infidelity
Minor: Suicide, Child death, Colonisation, Sexism, and Pregnancy
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