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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
It’s a story about a woman who everyone forgets, the amount of time it takes her to be forgotten depends on how long the interaction has been but as soon as she is out of sight the process starts and after a short while they have removed all memory of those interactions. Given it’s hard to hold down a job or a place to live when everyone forgets you, she makes her way in the world as a thief. The story takes place with the rise of a social media device that aims to make people “perfect” and she gets involved with someone who wants to bring that device down.
I don’t want to go into much more detail than that because otherwise it will get too spoilery so instead I am going to gush about some other things instead.
Basically I loved this book, one of the best things I have read this year. The writing style is very interesting, there are a few places in the book where she plays with how the words are written on the page to invoke certain feelings and effects and it really works. The language is also lovely and evocative and results in a very clear idea of who the character is and isn’t.
Also, how often do we get to see a book with a female protagonist who is a thief and yet still has a clear moral code despite her situation in life and the aching loneliness that is forced on her. Hope is a flawed person portrayed in a very realistic way and you find yourself desperately rooting for her and the ending of the book is both lovely and also in some ways still unexpected.
Seriously, read this book because it is wonderfully written and carries you along with it through a fascinating and very well crafted story.
https://wordpress.com/the-geekess.blog
I don’t want to go into much more detail than that because otherwise it will get too spoilery so instead I am going to gush about some other things instead.
Basically I loved this book, one of the best things I have read this year. The writing style is very interesting, there are a few places in the book where she plays with how the words are written on the page to invoke certain feelings and effects and it really works. The language is also lovely and evocative and results in a very clear idea of who the character is and isn’t.
Also, how often do we get to see a book with a female protagonist who is a thief and yet still has a clear moral code despite her situation in life and the aching loneliness that is forced on her. Hope is a flawed person portrayed in a very realistic way and you find yourself desperately rooting for her and the ending of the book is both lovely and also in some ways still unexpected.
Seriously, read this book because it is wonderfully written and carries you along with it through a fascinating and very well crafted story.
https://wordpress.com/the-geekess.blog
I did enjoy this book, but it didn't fully grip me. I loved the travelling aspect and how the different cities were described. I also liked all the odd information added in sporadically. But I guess I was expecting something different - I expected the story to be almost like a psychological thriller, and I guess thats why the story didn't grip me as much - because it was unexpected.
3,5 stars. I liked it, but there were a lot of parts that didn't do anything for the story, but were in my opinion just to fill up the book, making it unnecessarily long. The ending was meh.
Stunning and sleek, full of beautiful and confronting ideas about identity and who we become when those we love and hold dear are no longer looking. I was particularly enthralled by the musings about modern society and how we've in a sense created a society which makes slaves of us, and how we've tied in our perceptions of who we are with what we buy and how we look.
Hope is one tough character; she's a creature made entirely from her horrifying circumstance and when you find yourself disagreeing with her or finding her contemptible, you're also sympathising with her, and feeling glad you're not her.
As much as I've often wished to be invisible in certain situations, this is an extreme that I don't think I'd cope with. At least, not anywhere near as well as Hope Arden has.
Hope is one tough character; she's a creature made entirely from her horrifying circumstance and when you find yourself disagreeing with her or finding her contemptible, you're also sympathising with her, and feeling glad you're not her.
As much as I've often wished to be invisible in certain situations, this is an extreme that I don't think I'd cope with. At least, not anywhere near as well as Hope Arden has.
Definitely not what I was expecting going into the novel. I have some mixed feelings about it. Initially I found it very confusing when I first picked up the book in terms of understanding the writing style and plot point, but I was able to adapt to North's writing style fairly quickly. Once I was adapted to it, for the most part the book was enjoyable. There were parts that were very fast-paced and exciting to read, but there were also sections that really bored me and I had to push myself to get through. However, I didn't quite understand why Hope had a change of heart after the treatments with Byron and suddenly was conscious of the outside forces. Was it the juxtaposition between the two characters that lead to this?
I found it very hard to really empathize and relate to the character- Hope. I did feel for her situation, but I never felt like I cared about her as an individual and couldn't quite bring myself to like her. I also liked the character of Filipa and Byron a lot. Moreover, I was fascinated more with her sister Gracie and was intrigued (albeit confused) about their relationship. I wished that was touched on more. I was definitely very interested in her condition and wished that was delved into more with Parker and whether there are more people like her, what happened to them, why them etc. But that addition was very interesting.
The commentary of society through this novel was alright. It didn't give me anything in particular to think about once I read it, nor did it give me pause, but I could appreciate it nonetheless.
I found it very hard to really empathize and relate to the character- Hope. I did feel for her situation, but I never felt like I cared about her as an individual and couldn't quite bring myself to like her. I also liked the character of Filipa and Byron a lot. Moreover, I was fascinated more with her sister Gracie and was intrigued (albeit confused) about their relationship. I wished that was touched on more. I was definitely very interested in her condition and wished that was delved into more with Parker and whether there are more people like her, what happened to them, why them etc. But that addition was very interesting.
The commentary of society through this novel was alright. It didn't give me anything in particular to think about once I read it, nor did it give me pause, but I could appreciate it nonetheless.
3,5/5. Les 350 premières pages étaient incroyables et puis... Des longueurs, une intrigue qui se met à faire du surplace, une fin qui aboutit mais sans trop d'éclat. J'adore cette auteure et bien que les fins n'aient jamais été sa plus grande force, généralement la puissance du thriller et ses concepts toujours superbement originaux font des ces livres de très bons romans, mais ici un peu moins. Je crois que l'éditeur aurait facilement pu retrancher 150 pages, ce qui aurait grandement diminuer les longuers et on aurait refermé le livre avec une meilleure impression. Probablement pas le meilleure livre pour découvrir Claire North. Il demeure intéressant et aborde des sujets très actuelles avec une approche relativement différentes. De grandes forces, quelques grandes lacunes également. À vous de voir!
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book...
Was disappointing at the best of times, and annoying at the worst. It didn't invoke any particularly strong feelings of any sort really. It was a vague, and forgettable book - much like it's main character - despite specifically stating that her story would "stay with you forever."
The writing felt like the ramblings of my mother as she tries to explain a simple thing like where she was last Tuesday.
IE it takes her a REALLY LONG TIME to get to the point.
I felt like this novel was a great concept, spoiled by the fact that she didn't have all that much story to tell, so instead she filled in hundreds of pages with useless information that didn't at all pertain to the plot.
In fact, some of the headings of the pages of dot points that she included were:
Not to mention the paragraphs of untitled ramblings of facts and statistics that literally have no pertinence to the story other than to develop her unique and lonely character.
But wait?
Is she ACTUALLY so unique?
Of the about 4 characters she has any actual long term dealings with, three of them go on rants with the exact same formula of spouting irrelevant nonsense in a nigh hysterical manner.
So it's not exactly creative character building, as much as the author had not a lot of story, a lot of random information, and a keyboard.
Other than the needless facts, there is her coping mechanisms which take up about another 3rd of the book. She points out things around her, counts, and constantly titles herself to, I suppose, give herself meaning and purpose.
Here's an excerpt of one of the particularly hard to get through paragraphs:
I'll spare you the rest of the room's description. And that is directly copied punctuation.
She completely leaves out punctuation in many cases- often going from having a conversation with quotation marks, to suddenly not including them and just stating what is said, as if the conversation is happening in her own mind only.
I gave it two stars because when you actually get to the plot, it was alright. It-as well as my dedication to reading the book I spent good money on- kept me reading through to the end, but in the last 100 pages I was pulling at my hair and skimming entire paragraphs just to get to the end.
Because, go figure- the 48 pages before the end 2 could have basically been omitted, as it was just a list of where she travelled and how.
I also felt like the ending invoked no feelings other than relief. It was basically highlighting the pointlessness of the book I just read and rubbing in the fact that I just wasted my time.
Definitely don't get the hype.
Was disappointing at the best of times, and annoying at the worst. It didn't invoke any particularly strong feelings of any sort really. It was a vague, and forgettable book - much like it's main character - despite specifically stating that her story would "stay with you forever."
The writing felt like the ramblings of my mother as she tries to explain a simple thing like where she was last Tuesday.
IE it takes her a REALLY LONG TIME to get to the point.
I felt like this novel was a great concept, spoiled by the fact that she didn't have all that much story to tell, so instead she filled in hundreds of pages with useless information that didn't at all pertain to the plot.
In fact, some of the headings of the pages of dot points that she included were:
* Things I know about Japan contemplated at thirty-five thousand
feet:
* Permissions that the Facebook Messenger app requests
when downloaded to your phone:
* Lines of coding in a machine in ascending order:
* Average monthly wage in:
* GDPs, according to the International Monetary Fund:
* Funds donated to combating the Ebola outbreak 2014-15:
Not to mention the paragraphs of untitled ramblings of facts and statistics that literally have no pertinence to the story other than to develop her unique and lonely character.
But wait?
Is she ACTUALLY so unique?
Of the about 4 characters she has any actual long term dealings with, three of them go on rants with the exact same formula of spouting irrelevant nonsense in a nigh hysterical manner.
So it's not exactly creative character building, as much as the author had not a lot of story, a lot of random information, and a keyboard.
Other than the needless facts, there is her coping mechanisms which take up about another 3rd of the book. She points out things around her, counts, and constantly titles herself to, I suppose, give herself meaning and purpose.
Here's an excerpt of one of the particularly hard to get through paragraphs:
click click
I am knowledge
I am me
the world turns and I am still
Look upwards, and there, anatomy of a ballroom, go!
To the left, on balcony one, photographers and cameras interviewing the select beauties of the 206, a man in there now, a golfer, I think, one wrist folded over the other so you can better see his watch (sponsorship, nothing flashy, and look, you get to tell the time!)
in the middle, balcony two, an acrobat warming up, a string quartet in full swing, twiddley dum twiddly dee, jazz later of course, when they dance, the 206 all know how to dance
to the right...
I'll spare you the rest of the room's description. And that is directly copied punctuation.
She completely leaves out punctuation in many cases- often going from having a conversation with quotation marks, to suddenly not including them and just stating what is said, as if the conversation is happening in her own mind only.
I gave it two stars because when you actually get to the plot, it was alright. It-as well as my dedication to reading the book I spent good money on- kept me reading through to the end, but in the last 100 pages I was pulling at my hair and skimming entire paragraphs just to get to the end.
Because, go figure- the 48 pages before the end 2 could have basically been omitted, as it was just a list of where she travelled and how.
I also felt like the ending invoked no feelings other than relief. It was basically highlighting the pointlessness of the book I just read and rubbing in the fact that I just wasted my time.
Definitely don't get the hype.
I love the things Claire North comes up with. Time travel via being re-born again and again, a person who can shift from person to person by skin contact like a soul hermit crab, a person with an instantly forgettable face.
For me, she's one of those authors who I hunt for new books when I browse a book shop (on the off-chance a newly published Claire North book was published and not announced anywhere on the internet).
I enjoyed this one, but not nearly as much as Harry August or Touch, and I think it's because Ms. North did almost *too* good a job with her character. Hope is almost instantly forgotten by the people she meets, once she passes outside their conscious perception. As a result, you have a character who has an incredibly difficult time making meaningful personal connections, but is excellent at first impressions, because she gets so many attempts at them. Because of this trait, throughout much of the book, you, too, dredge up the same old introductions, that sense of disconnection each time you meet someone. The story is told at arm's length because this is how the world holds Hope. I think it's brilliantly executed, from a technical point of view, but, as a result, I felt less invested in the story and even a little frustrated with it, at times, unlike her other novels, which engaged and immersed you in her characters lives. But you can't be disappointed, in a way, because this is *exactly* how Hope Arden must feel, being so forgettable.
So while I was impressed with the technical devotion to the concept of the novel, it didn't quite click for me the way Ms. North's stories usually do. But I'm still on the lookout for her next one ("The End of the Day", out now) when I go browsing bookshops.
For me, she's one of those authors who I hunt for new books when I browse a book shop (on the off-chance a newly published Claire North book was published and not announced anywhere on the internet).
I enjoyed this one, but not nearly as much as Harry August or Touch, and I think it's because Ms. North did almost *too* good a job with her character. Hope is almost instantly forgotten by the people she meets, once she passes outside their conscious perception. As a result, you have a character who has an incredibly difficult time making meaningful personal connections, but is excellent at first impressions, because she gets so many attempts at them. Because of this trait, throughout much of the book, you, too, dredge up the same old introductions, that sense of disconnection each time you meet someone. The story is told at arm's length because this is how the world holds Hope. I think it's brilliantly executed, from a technical point of view, but, as a result, I felt less invested in the story and even a little frustrated with it, at times, unlike her other novels, which engaged and immersed you in her characters lives. But you can't be disappointed, in a way, because this is *exactly* how Hope Arden must feel, being so forgettable.
So while I was impressed with the technical devotion to the concept of the novel, it didn't quite click for me the way Ms. North's stories usually do. But I'm still on the lookout for her next one ("The End of the Day", out now) when I go browsing bookshops.
