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man_duh's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My long overdue introduction to Joan Didion didn't disappoint. From the first page, I felt swept up by the intricate sentences she weaves, carried off into the fictional country she had created. It was gems like "student of delusion" and "make conversation by day and avoid it in the dark" that kept me entranced with the slow pace of the first part of the book, but once let into the mysterious backstory of Charlotte I was absorbed. Brilliantly written to feel like you knew just enough about the characters as Grace, the narrator, did and ending with the perfect closing line to encapsulate that feeling.
Didion's style and repetition of phrases play out like the inner working of the mind, holding onto what the narrator wants to hold onto and contemplating the rest.
A great introduction the author's work.
Didion's style and repetition of phrases play out like the inner working of the mind, holding onto what the narrator wants to hold onto and contemplating the rest.
A great introduction the author's work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Cancer, and Gun violence
Minor: Antisemitism and Homophobia
ccreadz's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I feel like this book didn't age very well. There's nothing wrong with enjoying older stories that are obviously set in the past but this story ages like milk instead of wine really
I find it hard to enjoy stories that have a mainly POC setting yet choose to have priviledged white people as the main characters I honestly would be more interested in reading the perspective of the boca grande locals and how their lives were affected by colonization and war
I find it hard to enjoy stories that have a mainly POC setting yet choose to have priviledged white people as the main characters I honestly would be more interested in reading the perspective of the boca grande locals and how their lives were affected by colonization and war
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Child death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Colonisation, Cancer, Chronic illness, Racism, and Terminal illness
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