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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think the purpose of this book is incredibly important and for the most part well done. It was gripping and emotional, and I could only read it in small amounts as it otherwise made me too anxious. However, I did find at some times it was frustratingly meandering and could have been a bit more to the point.
dark
emotional
sad
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
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
masterpiece
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Simon parts were gut-wrenchingly beautiful. This book gave me a new perspective on authoritarian regimes, refugee crises, and personal struggles. And great book cover art.
Edit:
Edit:
Spoiler
Eilish walking everywhere in the city after she lost her car was unrealistic. Equally unrealistic was the lack of food scarcity.
Has incredible moments and is a great personal narrative about the descent of a society into authoritarian rule & the personal cost of this. However, pace meanders a bit and I lost engagement a few times.
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-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
I like this book in a vacuum, I think.
It is very well-written and it is a moving story of how someone can get stuck in a violent war zone even when she had opportunities to leave. However, this book is clearly pulling from actual conflicts that have happened and the ending made it clear that it was pulling specifically from the experiences of refugees from places like Syria. And there is something offensive about setting a story pulling from those experiences but setting it in a country where supposedly it would be imaginable (particularly a country like Ireland which has its own history of sectarian violence).
It feels intellectually lazy as it divorces why the Syrian civil war started and what led to the refugee crisis from the violence that occurs in this book, which dilutes the possible power of telling this kind of story but making it an "every man" kind of story as if that's the only way the reader can relate to a character caught in the middle of a civil war.
It is very well-written and it is a moving story of how someone can get stuck in a violent war zone even when she had opportunities to leave. However, this book is clearly pulling from actual conflicts that have happened and the ending made it clear that it was pulling specifically from the experiences of refugees from places like Syria. And there is something offensive about setting a story pulling from those experiences but setting it in a country where supposedly it would be imaginable (particularly a country like Ireland which has its own history of sectarian violence).
It feels intellectually lazy as it divorces why the Syrian civil war started and what led to the refugee crisis from the violence that occurs in this book, which dilutes the possible power of telling this kind of story but making it an "every man" kind of story as if that's the only way the reader can relate to a character caught in the middle of a civil war.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No