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leah_alexandra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a really good follow-up to The Sympathizer. The stakes felt a little lower due to the change of settings (drug dealing scheme vs. war), but the book has the same compelling urge and forward momentum. Viet Thanh Nguyen is just such a strong and effective writer. I'm so glad I picked up both this and The Sympathizer, as they're not the types of books I generally read. You must know going in, however, that this book is violent and graphic. Content warnings abound.
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia
caidyn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
Just like the first book, this is a hard one to rate and review. All I know is that I didn't like it as much as the first book and it was ten times more confusing that that first book. It was good, but I'd need to sit down and really concentrate hard to get all the nuances in the book. And I'd need to read it soon after rereading the first book. So, good but not great.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
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