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neverlandpages4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
- Going into this, I was so sure that it wasn’t going to be a 5 star read. The characters were mostly unlikable, the plot was getting repetitive, and I just felt like it would be an okay read. As soon as I finished it, that immediately changed. The ending and how everything came together was amazing. This book taught me countless lessons. The characters’ development left me speechless. I loved everything about this book. Yes, it might’ve started off boring, but looking back at it, I knew I needed this book. Also, in the rare occasion where a book makes me sob, it’s usually a 5 stars.
- I loved the unusual blend of genres. Mystery combined with humor makes for a surprisingly interesting read.
- The writing style is one of my favorites and it just felt so personal, you almost feel like you’re talking directly to the author.
- Fredrik Backman knows how to articulate some of the most complicated feelings of being human into words. His metaphors are always amazing and I love how easily he explains why we are the way that we are.
- The relationship between the father and son was so wholesome to read about. I think the author portrays parenthood in such an honest way which makes me want to read his nonfiction book about fatherhood.
- This touched on so many different topics like parenting, humanity, substance abuse, mental health, and more.
- Finding out the whole reason behind the robbery was really sad and it shows how life can change completely in a matter of days.
- This was a tough read because it talks about depression and suicidal thoughts quite often and when I picked this up, I was in a pretty good mental state so reading about those topics wasn’t ideal. But at the same time, if I was reading them while I was in a bad headspace, I’m not sure it would’ve been any better. So it’s just a tough book to get through.
- This was a ridiculously funny, heartfelt, and life-changing book that I would recommend to everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Gun violence, and Infidelity
Minor: Xenophobia, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, and War
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
wow wow wow. a new favorite. it took me a second to get used to the style, jumping back and forth with seemingly (but actually never) unconnected plot lines, but everything starts to get wound together and details are filled in and it pays off so beautifully. this is a beautiful love letter to humanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Minor: Blood, Cancer, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, War, Violence, and Sexual content
homophobia and lesbophobia are only mentions of previous cultural attitudes towards queer peopletoofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is about a bank robbery, hostage drama, but mostly about the bank robber and their 8 very anxious hostages who all have more issues than vogue; 8 strangers who figure out they have much more in common than they ever could have imagined.
The pace of this book was pretty slow, but it did not take me as long to read it as I thought it would. Even though there is definitely some dark subject matter, it manages to feel warm and good to read. The writing style has something whimsical about it even though this is pretty straightforward contemporary literary fiction and I really loved that aspect, it felt very much escapist even though the plot was (for the most part) rooted in reality. There are witness interviews of the hostages sprinkled throughout the book that were often so hilarious that I read them over more than once and they were really nice touch. I highlighted a ton of passages in here to the point where I had to make sure a highlighter was always next to me because I kept finding new favorite parts. Additionally, this book is very much character driven and gives each character, no matter how minor, their moment. A character that seems cartoonishly foolish at first reveals herself to be a smart, compassionate person and a character with a gruff exterior who I thought was just going to be there for filler turned out to be a very complicated person who added so much to the book. The characters were engaging, funny, and human.
Something is stopping me from committing to giving this a full 4 stars and I'm not sure what it is, because it is obvious that I really liked it, but for some reason there is something bugging me and I can't figure out what it is. If I figure it out, I'll edit this with an update.
The pace of this book was pretty slow, but it did not take me as long to read it as I thought it would. Even though there is definitely some dark subject matter, it manages to feel warm and good to read. The writing style has something whimsical about it even though this is pretty straightforward contemporary literary fiction and I really loved that aspect, it felt very much escapist even though the plot was (for the most part) rooted in reality. There are witness interviews of the hostages sprinkled throughout the book that were often so hilarious that I read them over more than once and they were really nice touch. I highlighted a ton of passages in here to the point where I had to make sure a highlighter was always next to me because I kept finding new favorite parts. Additionally, this book is very much character driven and gives each character, no matter how minor, their moment. A character that seems cartoonishly foolish at first reveals herself to be a smart, compassionate person and a character with a gruff exterior who I thought was just going to be there for filler turned out to be a very complicated person who added so much to the book. The characters were engaging, funny, and human.
Something is stopping me from committing to giving this a full 4 stars and I'm not sure what it is, because it is obvious that I really liked it, but for some reason there is something bugging me and I can't figure out what it is. If I figure it out, I'll edit this with an update.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Minor: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual content
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