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jodar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
And yet… I found some of the plot a little too tidy in places, a bit too melodramatic. And at times the characters felt almost stereotypical and uncomplicated; the feeling that “this is exactly how this dramatis persona would think, speak and act ”.
Further, the male MC holds some grim, cynical philosophical attitudes to life:
A life had come and gone and nature had not paused a second for it. The machine of time and space grinds on, and people are fed through it like grist through the mill. (Chapter 10)
Years bleach away the sense of things until all that’s left is a bone-white past, stripped of feeling and significance. (Chapter 37)
Soon enough the days will close over their lives, the grass will grow over their graves, until their story is just an unvisited headstone. (Chapter 37)
And the authorial voice, too, comments of the society:
History is that which is agreed upon by mutual consent.
That is how life goes on – protected by the silence that anaesthetises shame. (Chapter 17)
So yes, it is a story of love and grief and of love reclaimed despite the loss and tragedy, but in the end it feels to me to be a story of ultimate despair.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Child death, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Infertility, Xenophobia, War, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Confinement, and Alcohol
eliselerario's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Miscarriage
connortal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: War and Infertility
Minor: Xenophobia
hanngigi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Death, Miscarriage, and Child death
Moderate: War and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
phantomgecko's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Just a heartbreaking situation even though the solution was apparent.
I cried a fair bit at the end.
Moderate: Grief, Miscarriage, Confinement, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and War
silverrose187's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Pregnancy, War, and Xenophobia
udari's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death
Minor: Blood, War, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
maya_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: War, Death, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Xenophobia, Cancer, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Pregnancy
lavenderbluestories's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: War
abigailnoack's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
For the most part I liked it. It's a pretty complex story about having the life you want and fighting for what's right. I didn't particularly relate to any of the characters but they were interesting enough to read about it.
I don't know exactly how to feel about it. Really this book isn't my usual type. I don't read much adult fiction (which isn't really the problem here), but it's the kind of story that isn't about the journey, it's about how it all ends up. I wanted to keep reading to find out how everything works out. So it works. It kept me reading. However, I really love feeling engaged through a whole story and want to be satisfied through every page, not just at a just ending.
One little note - It really annoyed me the way that Lucy was written as a young child. I just didn't get the impression that the author had spent much time around children (not to say he hasn't, I have no idea), just the way she talked and interacted with Isabel and Tom felt so unnatural.
Moderate: Miscarriage and Infertility
Minor: Xenophobia