Reviews

On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee

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spencerdance's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

ryleeneu's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jennmcg's review against another edition

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2.0

2.5 stars, I guess. I'm finding it difficult to put my thoughts on this book into words. Somehow it read like a 350-page introduction to something else. It was chewy and hard to get through, and yet it felt oddly empty. That said, it wasn't terrible. But I can't say I loved it. I'm still deciding if I even really liked it. This is probably the most unhelpful review ever. McG out.

theemeraldgirl23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

theemeraldgirl23's review

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Goddamn this was a slog to get through. While I appreciated the attention to detail that went into every aspect of the novel, it was slow and the ending left me unsatisfied with Fan's own brother wanting to sell her out and her never ending up finding Reg.

The novel was also the epitome of men writing women. Why does B-Mor care so much about Fan if she was just average and why is it explained like that is exactly the reason why they care? It just felt so weird that an entire city cared about the life of a girl who was no one special, but perhaps that's what the message is. I guess I didn't really get it.

Points for the representation though, it has quite a bit of that at least.

Content Warnings

aberdeenwaters's review against another edition

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4.0

Change-rae Lee remains one of my favorite living authors. I liked the risks he took in writing this novel. He pays the right amount of attention to the world he builds, the characters, and where the story goes. I really enjoyed it.