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meganpbell'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? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Antisemitism, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, War, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, War, Death of parent, and Death
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
For me, the strength of the novel was in its depiction of the historical context surrounding this event - incorporating the then very recent history of the Holocaust, which decimated Budapest's Jewish population. Locke - who is Jewish but not Hungarian - handles this history with care and sensitivity, and there are some great lines that resonated with me at the time I read them. The historical context was a big reason why I continued reading this.
But in my opinion, there were two ways in which This Rebel Heart fell short - characterisation, and magical realism (which is a genre I've had a lot of difficulty with in the past, but that's beside the point).
I'll talk about the characterisation issue first. For me, good characterisation is essential to my enjoyment of a fiction book- because if the author doesn't make you care about the characters, why should you care about what happens to them? And that was the problem here. The three central characters - Csilla first and foremost, but Tamás, and Azriel too - did not feel like real people. The way they spoke, both to others and among themselves, felt too formal, and often the phrases they used felt like philosophical musings than natural conversation. In Azriel's case, this is excusable given he is
Now we come to the magical realism aspects. I know there are some people who love this genre - but, as I mentioned above, I am not one of them. I do, however, enjoy fantasy, and I feel that the difference between that and magical realism is that fantasy doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is, and the rules are clearly established from the outset. With magical realism, it seems to me the rules are that there are no rules, and that's my issue. With This Rebel Heart, I suspect Locke intended the magical realist aspects -
Katherine Locke deserves a great deal of credit for writing about a part of history that doesn't get the attention it should, but for me, This Rebel Heart did not work.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child death, Antisemitism, Genocide, Alcohol, and Homophobia
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Torture, and Medical trauma
avabudavari's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Grief, and Police brutality
Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
maidmarianlib's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Police brutality, Blood, Homophobia, and War
deliriah's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: War and Antisemitism
Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Grief, Child death, Blood, Homophobia, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
emilysbookishlife's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: War, Blood, Death, Genocide, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Antisemitism, Homophobia, and Grief
sbsreads's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: War and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Hate crime, Child death, Police brutality, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
As expected, this book gets heavy emotionally, set after WWII and heavily discussed the oppression of Hungarian Jews during and after the war. But even with all of the emotional elements, Locke is still able to feature moments of joy. While I didn't necessarily always understand everything that was going on (especiallly when it came to the magical parts; I think this is partly because I listened to it instead), I was captivated by this story. Highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction with a little bit of magical realism.
Graphic: Death of parent, Antisemitism, Death, and War
Moderate: Child death and Violence
Minor: Torture
themoonphoenix's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Learn from a historical event not so well known internationally
Historical Fiction with a little magic
Strong and diverse characters
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, War, and Antisemitism
elizajaquays's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Even with the brutal backdrop of a city on the cusp of revolt, the story is beautiful. The slow, careful unfurling of color, the soft tenderness of Csilla's bond with Azriel and Tamas. Csilla's friendship with Zsu and Azil and how they support each other even through their differences.
From start to finish, the book was stunning. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Violence, and War