Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Promise by Damon Galgut

20 reviews

dark emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Very interesting read, it hopped around a good bit. Writing style was different then my normal reads but enjoyed it. Bit crude,unfiltered examination of people.

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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bealmg's profile picture

bealmg's review

4.0
challenging dark reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Apartheid has fallen, see, we die right next to each other now, in intimate proximity. It's just the living part we still have to work out.

I absolutely loved Galgut's writing, I think it is the strongest aspect of this novel. We have a sarcastic and unrealiable narrator who weaves in and out of each characters' perspectives to reveal their innermost thoughts and motivations. Although this can be disorienting, it was brilliantly done - and it reflects, I believe, the turmoil and chaos in post-Apartheid South Africa.
I also really enjoyed the complicated and messy family dynamics and how the characters interacted with one another, often leaving more things unsaid than said; it is up to us, the reader, to join the pieces of the puzzle and to interpret their silences.
However, I wished we had seen more of Salome and her son Lukas. Perhaps that was on purpose - after all, this is a story about South Africa and the post-Apartheid promises that were never really fulfilled. Still, I would have liked to know more about these two characters and I would have liked to see a deeper exploration of racial relations in post-Apartheid South Africa.

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emotional reflective fast-paced
Strong character development: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Liked it but didn’t love it.

It’s beautifully written and full of metaphor but there was just something missing for me 

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The ideas were much better than the execution. The first chapter, a quarter of the book, was barely readable, the second was brilliant, the other two were fine. 

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adventurous dark 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings