Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin

21 reviews

allyjshand's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The concept behind the novel is brilliant. I was so intrigued by kentukis and their depicted global popularity. Whilst some argue that kentukis are unrealistic, I would disagree. Given the rate at which we have absorbed technologies into our homes that utilise voice recognition and cameras, I'd argue that the us machines like kentukis is not unlikely. The whole novel was reminiscent of the dystopian TV show Black Mirror which, like Little Eyes, uses futuristic technologies to reflect human nature. To top it off, the writing was extremely fluid and engaging - making it easy to fall into Schweblin's world. However, I found the novel quite dark and graphic at times (although, this is a matter of reader preference). Also, whilst the use of multiple perspectives was seamless, I felt that less POVs could have been included to allow for the remaining narratives to be developed more. Regardless, Little Eyes is a though-provoking novel that will definitely stay with me.

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jhbandcats's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reading this book is like watching an accident in slow motion where you know how awful it's going to be but you can't do anything to stop it.

Kentukis are cute little animals on wheels. People elsewhere in the world control them, seeing through the camera in the eyes. You can be either a keeper, who owns the little animal, or a dweller, who controls it with a tablet, moving around and interacting with the keeper.

The thing is, dwellers can't communicate with the keeper. There's translation software so the dweller can understand the keeper speaking - but the keeper only, not anyone else in the room - but no official way for the dweller to communicate. Some keepers use Ouija boards or Yes / No / Don't Know / Ask Another Question plots on the floor, and some keepers hold up signs with phone numbers and email addresses in hopes the dweller will get in touch. 

These things are all over the world. In upscale areas, 25% of households have at least one kentuki, and the numbers are growing. Now imagine the worst possible types of dwellers - who are these unknown people hiding inside the kentukis, watching you in the bedroom and bathroom, seeing your important papers in your office? Are they sweet little old ladies or are they pedophiles? And what about the keepers? Who would want a technological spy in their home, even if it's benign?

Very, very thought provoking and, to be honest, terrifying. An excellent book.

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pages_with_a_preoccupied_prin's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a really interesting read thar was incredibly unnerving. It felt like I was reading an episode of Black mirror. 
I was really intrigued by the various characters portrayed in this novel and found the concept fascinating. I think this book looked really well at society and how people interact, considering how much everyone is interested in how other people live. 
It was incredibly graphic at points, with one scene I had to actually skim read because I found it so gross. 
I can't lie, but I am incredibly glad the Kentuki's don't actually exist. 

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ctrl_shift_dlt's review

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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horizonous's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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blanketpirate's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-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

5.0


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effys's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

It took me a while to get into this book but it was a fairly interesting read. It does make you think what you would do if technology like this existed. 

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lienlovesbooks's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is an incredibly imaginative and clever book. I was captured by every storyline and finished it so fast because I couldn’t stop reading. 

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willardfillmore's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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martab's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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