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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Quite an entertaining but very bizarre, experimental novel - to be honest just over my head, as the plot/narrator/fourth wall breaks down I found it harder and harder to understand why this was all happening, especially getting into some psychology/spirituality areas. But it's pretty comedic at points and fairly readable even with the fourth-wall breaking - if you're into playful, intellectual, meta-fictional stuff this might be for you!
This novella breaks the fourth wall in a hilarious, wild manner.
On thing that bugged me is that at one point a character guesses the scrabble score of a word. You can’t guess the score solely on the basis of the word! It depends on the placement on the board!
On thing that bugged me is that at one point a character guesses the scrabble score of a word. You can’t guess the score solely on the basis of the word! It depends on the placement on the board!
slow-paced
Should have loved this book - and I did really enjoy how experimental it was. But I was always questioning how I felt about the portrayal of Ying Yue and Wang Shu, and whether or not their portrayal was harmful? Particularly with how submissive, docile and childish Ying Yue is (which is a common harmful portrayal of young Asian women that I feel is being propagated in this book?).
Maybe the author was using these stereotypes for a purpose? To turn them on their head? But I couldn't grasp what she was saying about them, if she WAS saying something about them...
I was also let down by how long the author spends praising (in-text) her editor, Morag, only to soon after casually drop the R-slur. Surprising for a book that came out in 2019 and could have easily been replaced by something that wasn't a slur. I don't know if Morag is real person or another device (and therefore, was Barker's use of the R-slur a dig at editors???). Either way - I found its use really distracting and I tuned out for the remainder of the book.
Maybe the author was using these stereotypes for a purpose? To turn them on their head? But I couldn't grasp what she was saying about them, if she WAS saying something about them...
I was also let down by how long the author spends praising (in-text) her editor, Morag, only to soon after casually drop the R-slur. Surprising for a book that came out in 2019 and could have easily been replaced by something that wasn't a slur. I don't know if Morag is real person or another device (and therefore, was Barker's use of the R-slur a dig at editors???). Either way - I found its use really distracting and I tuned out for the remainder of the book.
medium-paced
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
funny
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:
Complicated
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated