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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liked but didn't love this. The characters are somewhat compelling, the mystery is somewhat compelling, the pacing is okay, the ending isn't all that satisfying. It also does that lit fic thing where the author adds in some weird sexual encounter for shock value to prove it's a gritty literary book and I hate that. Just not something that's going to stick with me, though it is exploring interesting themes. It also seems incredibly implausible that so many people going to the Centre never question what's going on and just go along with it until our not especially interesting, curious, or bright main character comes along. For such an intriguing premise I don't think this does much that's very interesting at the end of the day.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The extra .5 is strictly from the last 50-75 pages of the book. I really struggled through it. But the end and big twist were surprising in a scenario where I thought it was predictable. I really enjoyed the last 1/4 and wish the rest of the book had been more similar to that.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
You can't just have your protagonist think endlessly about the same old "immigrant experience" stuff and then acknowledge it but not do anything with that acknowledgement... There's nothing new in this book, though the character work is vaguely interesting. The Centre could have been far more fleshed out, and the central premise around languages brought to the fore a bit more. This book felt like the author just had A Lot to Say and popped it all in one volume, lest she's never published again.
Joking aside I felt like the reaction to the “twist” wasn’t very realistic, the ending was lackluster, and I don’t think the commentary was doing as much as the author intended. The concept was good but the execution… meh
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
I was pulled in and charmed by the author’s style. She writes as if she’s texting a friend but weaves in beautiful descriptive passages. The plot kept me intrigued but I was hoping for a more complicated mystery and/or a bigger twist. Clearly I read a lot of dark fiction because it was certainly a shocking twist but one that felt too simple and not very fleshed out to me. Always a nice little nod to the reader when an author inserts themself so much in fiction.
Edit: I started reading Heart of Darkness and finally understood the skull measuring reference!
Edit: I started reading Heart of Darkness and finally understood the skull measuring reference!