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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
May have appreciated parts more and made deeper symbolic connections (esp the ending) if reading instead of audiobook, but general what the heck feeling. Main character didn’t ever have me in her corner, just plain annoying. Her translation job was cool though! Wish I could read the book referenced about the futuristic authors editing in real time, then going missing one day. Sigh…
this was a miss for me...a LOT of telling not showing. "we talked through the night" was said at least twice in the book in place of actual dialogue. the dialogue that does exists was not compelling to me and the internal monologuing, while interesting in content, would have been more engaging as a personal essay instead of a novel. i found the social commentary to be pretty ham-fisted in this format. the characters were not super compelling either and conflicts came and went with basically no stakes. "she was suddenly cool to me after that" also said twice in this book but about two different characters.
i think the author did a huge disservice to the language aspect of this concept. it didn't grapple with language or linguistics at all other than a passing thought from the main character that her focus on european languages is white supremacist—which is true! but we never explore it further than that statement. i thought this book would be a lot more about language than it was and i was really disappointed by that, because a mysterious language learning center is a such a good idea!! (and re:the language learning center, i think the horror could have been way better done.)
idk there's just so much about this book that fell flat to me. it's a really compelling idea but it just wasn't that well-written.
i think the author did a huge disservice to the language aspect of this concept. it didn't grapple with language or linguistics at all other than a passing thought from the main character that her focus on european languages is white supremacist—which is true! but we never explore it further than that statement. i thought this book would be a lot more about language than it was and i was really disappointed by that, because a mysterious language learning center is a such a good idea!! (and re:the language learning center, i think the horror could have been way better done.)
idk there's just so much about this book that fell flat to me. it's a really compelling idea but it just wasn't that well-written.
dark
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
I found this book to be a let down. Good premise, but the pacing was off.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
OKAAAAAYYYY who else is a big stupid idiot and missed the huge “this is foreshadowing” sign on the glorious description of different foods throughout this book, and instead just went “wow❤️. i wonder how they Learn. the#language🙂↕️”
Mostly boring and disappointing. Prose was ok, character development was alright, but the author left a lot of really interesting class commentary largely unexplored or else it was poorly done. The twist was teased so much that I was trudging through waiting for the reveal I knew was coming. I also thought the twist was not well enough explored. There were potentially some really interesting things to say about the way humans construct morality but this commentary by the author also felt extremely surface level.
A fun and quick read that seems to fall apart under scrutiny.
A fun and quick read that seems to fall apart under scrutiny.
This was a good dark & twisty mystery book about an elite confidential language school that makes participants fully fluent in just 10 days through a strange and secretive process. An intrigued Pakistani translator living in London decides to enroll in hopes of propelling her career. She makes friends with the woman who runs the Centre and is pulled into to the fold to learn more about how the process works. It's an engaging Black Mirror rollercoaster of a book!
The main character is a flawed, entitled narcissist. However, I did enjoy much of her social commentary throughout the book. Perhaps her attention to gender, racial, and class inequality will allow her to use her newly acquired skills in less problematic ways, haha. There were a few plot holes that bugged me. Why is Adam's character such a dud after attending the Centre many times? Why didn't Anisa worry about getting murdered at any point??
The main character is a flawed, entitled narcissist. However, I did enjoy much of her social commentary throughout the book. Perhaps her attention to gender, racial, and class inequality will allow her to use her newly acquired skills in less problematic ways, haha. There were a few plot holes that bugged me. Why is Adam's character such a dud after attending the Centre many times? Why didn't Anisa worry about getting murdered at any point??
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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:
Yes
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated