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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
A beautifully written account of how history shapes us and how we shape our own histories. I loved this. It reminds me of The Stone Diaries, The English Patient, and The Blind Assassin.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Found this quite dull, some beautiful extracts of writing but overall the story didn’t grip me
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this for a book club. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have gotten through it. I just didn't care about the characters, and even some of the deeper points it was trying to make about history, language, feminism, and memoir were heavy handed. I'm interested to see if I feel differently after the book club, but probably not.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really wanted to enjoy this book, and granted it does have its moments. Overall, I didn't enjoy reading about the life of Claudia. She's a very unlikeable character besides s couple of small redeeming features. Wouldn't read again.
emotional
reflective
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
A very thoughtful book. I particularly enjoyed the sections set in Cairo, it was very atmospheric.