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spookyaz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
saskiahill's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It started really well, I was interested in the characters and how their stories wove together. It felt like it lost momentum towards the end and just slowly drew to a close.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
lauraevelyn's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
oliviaclaire's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book wasn't on my TBR list but I picked it up in a charity shop on a whim, both for the premise and the fact that it was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.
A later Goodreads review described it as 'aggressively mediocre' and I think this goes some way in helping to explain my feelings on the story and in particular, the writing style. Lots of small things happen in this book, and a few big things too... however, every single action and thought is embellished with heavy description which slows the pace and can make it hard to pick out the real moments of significance within the story. Lillian Li is obviously a very talented writer, I just feel like the excessive use of literary devices and figurative speech at times takes away from the story being told which, at it's core, is a family and workplace drama centered on several characters who, unfortunately, are generally unsympathetic (with one or two notable exceptions) and ultimately find little to no personal resolution by the close of the book.
A later Goodreads review described it as 'aggressively mediocre' and I think this goes some way in helping to explain my feelings on the story and in particular, the writing style. Lots of small things happen in this book, and a few big things too... however, every single action and thought is embellished with heavy description which slows the pace and can make it hard to pick out the real moments of significance within the story. Lillian Li is obviously a very talented writer, I just feel like the excessive use of literary devices and figurative speech at times takes away from the story being told which, at it's core, is a family and workplace drama centered on several characters who, unfortunately, are generally unsympathetic (with one or two notable exceptions) and ultimately find little to no personal resolution by the close of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Addiction and Drug use
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Drug use, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent