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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
darianaaa's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated
3.0
bchallis's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
merlandese's review against another edition
4.0
Really good book that, in very little space, plays with ideas of habit, of loneliness, of routine, of duty, of the meaning of life itself. The way the perspective shifts from present to past whenever it wants is so clean and so inviting that you hardly notice. Is it a story? Is it happening right now?
The Tartar Steppe follows Lieutenant Drogo to an isolated fort on the border of the nation, but it's about more than just him. The narrative haunts the fort itself, which in turn haunts the people in it. The soldiers perform their specific tasks day in and day out, all riding the hope that soon they will be attacked.
Yes, their only real hope and wish is to be attacked! They WANT war! They want their lives to be of some use—for all these days to not be wasted. It's brilliant and beautiful and all too real.
I love the way the characters lie to themselves. Or rather, just not accept their own personal truths. Nor do people confess their personal truths to each other. They just live. And their lives are neither bad nor good. They just live. They just live. And each day comes with a gentle beauty and then goes the same. They just live.
Is Fort Bastiani a magical place, with its tall yellow walls and its view of the steppe, singing like a gentle siren, capturing wayward men with a song of glory? Or is that just the medicine Drogo feeds himself as we wakes up to the same ceiling every day until he can't wake up any longer? We're left with a lot of questions, not just about the faceless enemies and the fictional empire and the people who roam the halls of the monotonous bastion, but about our own lives and what we're doing with each day.
The Tartar Steppe follows Lieutenant Drogo to an isolated fort on the border of the nation, but it's about more than just him. The narrative haunts the fort itself, which in turn haunts the people in it. The soldiers perform their specific tasks day in and day out, all riding the hope that soon they will be attacked.
Yes, their only real hope and wish is to be attacked! They WANT war! They want their lives to be of some use—for all these days to not be wasted. It's brilliant and beautiful and all too real.
I love the way the characters lie to themselves. Or rather, just not accept their own personal truths. Nor do people confess their personal truths to each other. They just live. And their lives are neither bad nor good. They just live. They just live. And each day comes with a gentle beauty and then goes the same. They just live.
Is Fort Bastiani a magical place, with its tall yellow walls and its view of the steppe, singing like a gentle siren, capturing wayward men with a song of glory? Or is that just the medicine Drogo feeds himself as we wakes up to the same ceiling every day until he can't wake up any longer? We're left with a lot of questions, not just about the faceless enemies and the fictional empire and the people who roam the halls of the monotonous bastion, but about our own lives and what we're doing with each day.
booksandfood247's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated
4.5
drknockers's review against another edition
5.0
I thought it was incredible. There were so many passages that so moving but at the same time banal. How time passes by and ambitions are thwarted. Pride can be one’s undoing. Real good shit.