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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
This book gave me weird dreams when I read it before bed and some extra spoonfuls of paranoia but overall I liked it.
The style and voice took a little getting use too but also made it harder to put down.
The style and voice took a little getting use too but also made it harder to put down.
Edit: my review doesn't contain spoilers, but my Kindle highlights do! Def don't read spoilers before picking up this book. The beauty of it is figuring out little bits as you read 😊
4.5 stars!! This book is about a woman everyone forgets...but it's also not about that at all. I went into it remembering only that, and I was absolutely fascinated the whole time.
There's a lot of social commentary, symbolism, metaphor, and SO much cleverness. Hope is somewhat of a collector of knowledge, so lots of random facts and stats are thrown in, and she also does a fair bit of world traveling so we get glimpses into lots of different cultures and lifestyles. It focuses not only on how people are different but how they are the same, and how both of those things can be good and bad.
The chapters are short (there are 106 in just over 450 pages) which really works for the type of story being told. It's definitely genre-bending, as it has elements of sff, but it's also sort of a fast-paced thriller, a bit dystopian, and probably literary or speculative fiction. I'm not so good with genres, and I certainly don't mind not being able to place books in a single box. This is also the type of book that reminds you writing is art. I wouldn't even know how to recommend this, but I really loved how it was written and everything it had to say. It really made me think, and I loved it for that. It was very introspective and therefore made ME introspective while reading. I was glad I took my time with this story, and I'm very happy I went in with no expectations!
4.5 stars!! This book is about a woman everyone forgets...but it's also not about that at all. I went into it remembering only that, and I was absolutely fascinated the whole time.
There's a lot of social commentary, symbolism, metaphor, and SO much cleverness. Hope is somewhat of a collector of knowledge, so lots of random facts and stats are thrown in, and she also does a fair bit of world traveling so we get glimpses into lots of different cultures and lifestyles. It focuses not only on how people are different but how they are the same, and how both of those things can be good and bad.
The chapters are short (there are 106 in just over 450 pages) which really works for the type of story being told. It's definitely genre-bending, as it has elements of sff, but it's also sort of a fast-paced thriller, a bit dystopian, and probably literary or speculative fiction. I'm not so good with genres, and I certainly don't mind not being able to place books in a single box. This is also the type of book that reminds you writing is art. I wouldn't even know how to recommend this, but I really loved how it was written and everything it had to say. It really made me think, and I loved it for that. It was very introspective and therefore made ME introspective while reading. I was glad I took my time with this story, and I'm very happy I went in with no expectations!
Super-fascinating meditation on how we exist if we aren't seen/remembered.
Having loved North's previous offerings, I was so disappointed with 'The Sudden Appearance of Hope'. Despite it's intriguing storyline, the narrative is erratic, disjointed & contains far too much of the protagonist's inner dialogue. Very hard to engage with & ultimately I found I didn't care.
The Sudden Appearance of Hope was, sadly, disappointing.
The concept was extremely cool: Hope is, literally, forgotten. She began to fade from her friends and parents' memories when she was 16 and now her curse is to be forgotten by everybody who sees her. Hope uses this ability/curse to survive by becoming a thief, until one of her heists goes wrong.
I had a lot of faith in this idea. The first lines actually hooked me and made me extremely excited, but in the end what ruined the book for me were my expectations. Not because they were too high, but because I expected something completely different. I certainly didn't expect this book to be a thriller (kind of, but still) and I wasn't really excited about that. The book itself bored me sometimes and what was an awesome premise turned into a flat, average book. It's a good book, but it's not as good as it could have been.
I was confident that North would develop this idea in the best way possible, because I've read one of her books and I enjoyed it a lot, but this time around she caught me by surprise and in a negative way.
There are some good elements and some quotes are quite interesting, but it wasn't enough. I really appreciated Hope's character and I think that the character development was extremely well done, but in the end it wasn't enough for me. Overall this is a good book, but it wasn't what I expected and not in a positive way.
The concept was extremely cool: Hope is, literally, forgotten. She began to fade from her friends and parents' memories when she was 16 and now her curse is to be forgotten by everybody who sees her. Hope uses this ability/curse to survive by becoming a thief, until one of her heists goes wrong.
I had a lot of faith in this idea. The first lines actually hooked me and made me extremely excited, but in the end what ruined the book for me were my expectations. Not because they were too high, but because I expected something completely different. I certainly didn't expect this book to be a thriller (kind of, but still) and I wasn't really excited about that. The book itself bored me sometimes and what was an awesome premise turned into a flat, average book. It's a good book, but it's not as good as it could have been.
I was confident that North would develop this idea in the best way possible, because I've read one of her books and I enjoyed it a lot, but this time around she caught me by surprise and in a negative way.
There are some good elements and some quotes are quite interesting, but it wasn't enough. I really appreciated Hope's character and I think that the character development was extremely well done, but in the end it wasn't enough for me. Overall this is a good book, but it wasn't what I expected and not in a positive way.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder
Minor: Racism, Sexism
Well written. Intriguing story. A little too long for my tastes.
Claire's inability to be remembered is a strange and frightening state. She must steal to live without any lasting human connection and the story starts with a jewel heist. Going deeper into her psyche is a whirl of thought techniques that help keep her sane (somewhat) and those to do want to keep some kind of connection with her are not able to stay free of paranoia. It's disturbing and fascinating. I would have liked to have more resolution to her personal situation and more exploration of her relationship with her sister, who is the only one who remembers her.
What reads as a thriller with a very strange conceit is actually a complex study of identity.
At the outset I found the premise of this story, a person who is almost immediately forgotten, at first by her family and friends, and then by everyone she meets, pretty depressing. It's as if everyone around her has alzheimer's , at least as far as she is concerned. Hope cannot have friends, cannot rely on anyone for anything because the moment she is out of sight she is out of mind.
North, therefore, had to create a plausible way for Hope to adapt and survive, and in the process creates a rather sympathetic and compelling master thief whose inner struggles to be memorable drive to to do more than just survive.
The world Hope lives in is being shaped by another type of identity crisis: the need to achieve "perfection" by enslaving oneself to a self-help app. Perfection, the app, takes the faithful by the hand and ultimately makes every decision for them as they climb the ladder of success and conformity. Hope is happy to rob from them until she befriends someone, in her unique way, who is driven to suicide by the app, and then it's game on for Hope to bring Perfection down.
At every turn identity plays the central role in what it means to be successful, safe, important, loved, remembered, and ultimately just "to be" in and of itself.
I rather like it.
Q: 3
E: 4
I: 4
3x4 +4 = 16
At the outset I found the premise of this story, a person who is almost immediately forgotten, at first by her family and friends, and then by everyone she meets, pretty depressing. It's as if everyone around her has alzheimer's , at least as far as she is concerned. Hope cannot have friends, cannot rely on anyone for anything because the moment she is out of sight she is out of mind.
North, therefore, had to create a plausible way for Hope to adapt and survive, and in the process creates a rather sympathetic and compelling master thief whose inner struggles to be memorable drive to to do more than just survive.
The world Hope lives in is being shaped by another type of identity crisis: the need to achieve "perfection" by enslaving oneself to a self-help app. Perfection, the app, takes the faithful by the hand and ultimately makes every decision for them as they climb the ladder of success and conformity. Hope is happy to rob from them until she befriends someone, in her unique way, who is driven to suicide by the app, and then it's game on for Hope to bring Perfection down.
At every turn identity plays the central role in what it means to be successful, safe, important, loved, remembered, and ultimately just "to be" in and of itself.
I rather like it.
Q: 3
E: 4
I: 4
3x4 +4 = 16