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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
mysterious
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This breezy novel is widely celebrated and loved for its marriage of engrossing mystery in an intriguing world of magical realism occupied by one curious POV protagonist. Unfortunately, though I appreciated many of its features in isolation and overall construction, I only mildly enjoyed how it all came together. I never felt or thought deeply outside the pull of its mysteries, which heavy carried through a lot of "things happening" that didn't interest much otherwise. But the mysterious elements, and necessity of seeing if my theories were to be validated, did keep me reading.
The mystery itself is impressively well planned out and reveals satisfyingly enough, but I just wasn't that enamored with what it all amounted to in the end, it having little greater value beyond a cleverly constructed plot with characters that felt cartoonish caricatures or undeveloped sketches.
So that mystery, which was the main draw all along, actually ended up the most disappointing part of the book for me, while philosophical underpinnings to the nature of the mysterious world, all endless halls of statues and tides, and the protag's relationship to it became more appreciated by the end. A real switcheroo. But even that ultimately felt somewhat underexplored and not deep enough in what was. Maybe if the book was longer.
All negatives aside, the book's prose is nice and length light, making it a quick read. And the main character, despite being intelligent, often comes across as childlike and so simple to follow, making it also an easy read. And so probably worth the quick and easy plunge through something most have adored and many call a modern classic. I adored it, too; just a bit less so and in parts.
The mystery itself is impressively well planned out and reveals satisfyingly enough, but I just wasn't that enamored with what it all amounted to in the end, it having little greater value beyond a cleverly constructed plot with characters that felt cartoonish caricatures or undeveloped sketches.
So that mystery, which was the main draw all along, actually ended up the most disappointing part of the book for me, while philosophical underpinnings to the nature of the mysterious world, all endless halls of statues and tides, and the protag's relationship to it became more appreciated by the end. A real switcheroo. But even that ultimately felt somewhat underexplored and not deep enough in what was. Maybe if the book was longer.
All negatives aside, the book's prose is nice and length light, making it a quick read. And the main character, despite being intelligent, often comes across as childlike and so simple to follow, making it also an easy read. And so probably worth the quick and easy plunge through something most have adored and many call a modern classic. I adored it, too; just a bit less so and in parts.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
It was a really interesting unfolding, I’m just left feeling a little unsatisfied. A fun read but I put it down for a while halfway through. It was built up as a quick read that is engrossing and I was a little let down. Still good an interesting, just maybe overhyped.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I almost gave up on page two with Capitalized Common Nouns but am glad I stuck it out. I have no idea how to describe this book. Incredible concept and eloquent writing will always wish I could reread this for the first time.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes