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ka_cam's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A peculiar book weaving together folklore, physics, psychology, and more. Major themes of trauma, immigration (side story on international adoption), racial and gender identity and oppression, mental illness, faith, and work in the sciences woven into a tale of mothers and daughters. I felt the many different threads could have been better woven together and the 3rd quarter of the book dragged on unnecessarily, in part due to the sometimes overly self conscious writing. All in all an interesting but not mind blowing read 4 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: War
hamohero's review against another edition
Not my cup of tea. Don't really care for the characters or romance. Narrator would go on tangents and there were dialogues that made me go "Who talks like this?"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
mvvelde's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
3.0
There are many things that I enjoyed about Folklorn. Overall the author's telling with the usage of folklore was beautiful and the writing was lovely. I also really enjoyed part of the plot taking place in a higher academic setting--the usage of language and the the parallel of Elsa's scientific studies with her own journey were intriguing. I also enjoyed her slapstick way of communicating, as well as the stream of conscious of her thoughts from cultural stereotypes to reasoning and flashbacks. I cannot highlight these points enough--they alone made the book worth reading.
That being said, there were also a number of things I didn't enjoy about the book. But before I go further, I would like, first, to note that I am likely not the intended reader for such a book. As such, please take my criticisms of Folklorn with a grain of salt. I felt it hard to connect with the story in general--something that I really don't understand because I really did enjoy the premise and all of the elements in Folklorn. Perhaps this is due to how drawn-out the opening 30% of the book felt. But some of actions taken and things said by Elsa felt counterintuitive to how the plot developed.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.
That being said, there were also a number of things I didn't enjoy about the book. But before I go further, I would like, first, to note that I am likely not the intended reader for such a book. As such, please take my criticisms of Folklorn with a grain of salt. I felt it hard to connect with the story in general--something that I really don't understand because I really did enjoy the premise and all of the elements in Folklorn. Perhaps this is due to how drawn-out the opening 30% of the book felt. But some of actions taken and things said by Elsa felt counterintuitive to how the plot developed.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Violence, Racism, and Racial slurs
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