Scan barcode
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Animal death and Violence
meganpbennett's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
It was difficult to follow, and the main characters having no names did not help matters. The boy isn't a particularly lovable main character, and he's naive enough that it stops being a good thing and becomes a slog. For such a short book with so much travel, nothing really happens. The boy learns a lot of things, but I felt like I was missing half of the story.
Graphic: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Violence, War, and Sexism
callmebella's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
sxrxh_lenx's review against another edition
Graphic: Racial slurs and Xenophobia
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Moderate: Islamophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Death, Alcohol, and Drug use
draconia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, and War
Minor: Violence
juliane_knf's review against another edition
0.25
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Misogyny
hello_lovely13's review against another edition
2.0
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, and War
zaraha's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Violence, Animal death, War, and Xenophobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I am reading a translation, so it’s possible that it’s more dazzling in the original language, but the version I’m reading is flat and boring. People think things, do things, then think about how they did things. It’s plodding and just shy of dull, I only finished it because I’m reading it for a book club.
Santiago is boring and insipid. I don't like him, neither as a character nor as a narrator. Santiago gets to know a few people but the descriptions of them are simple, categorical, and frequently xenophobic. He spends the longest with the crystal merchant, and that was the best section of the book. His interactions with women are flat and centered around his idea of them in a way that was off-putting for me.
I’m not sure how much worldbuilding was actually accomplished, and how much the book relied on me as a reader to know, for example, where Andulsia (in Spain) is in relation to Egypt. It uses the real world for its setting and relies on Biblical references for its fantastical elements, exploring new places through the naïve gaze of its protagonist.
The ending is so breathtakingly simple that I don’t know whether to applaud or be upset. It’s a journey story, which normally I would like, but this just didn't appeal to me at all.
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit, Death, and Racial slurs