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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
What the heck did I just read?
How can a book with mystery, the apocalypse and a ton of graphic sexual situations be so boring?
In reverse:
1) sexual situations-- there was quite a bit of very graphic (yet not at all provocative or spicy) sexual descriptions. Descriptions of erections, coitus, the clean up involved... this was a book club book so the discussion will be interesting
2) the apocalypse? We think? Maybe? And how these two families think about it.. in the 2 days this takes place.
3) the mystery is completely unsatisfying. Utterly.
The most interesting thing in the book is the ingrained racism of the parents. It is subtle and realistic.
Audiobook narrator was fine. Book isn't worth the read.
How can a book with mystery, the apocalypse and a ton of graphic sexual situations be so boring?
In reverse:
1) sexual situations-- there was quite a bit of very graphic (yet not at all provocative or spicy) sexual descriptions. Descriptions of erections, coitus, the clean up involved... this was a book club book so the discussion will be interesting
2) the apocalypse? We think? Maybe? And how these two families think about it.. in the 2 days this takes place.
3) the mystery is completely unsatisfying. Utterly.
The most interesting thing in the book is the ingrained racism of the parents. It is subtle and realistic.
Audiobook narrator was fine. Book isn't worth the read.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The only thing good about this book is that it led to the movie, which is far superior. The author’s writing style is pretentious and vague—like he isn’t sure where he was going or why any of his plot happened, then got bored, distracted by something on NPR, and quit.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I’m sad this was my very last book of the year as I’ve read so many great books these past few months. But I suppose it’s a fitting ending to a crap year. So long 2020 and so long Leave the World Behind! It was a finalist for the National Book Award and has received so much praise that I was looking forward to reading it, but it is just terrible. The characters are stilted, the writing mediocre at best, and the ending unsatisfactory. I guess if you like pages and pages of detail about the same scene with almost nothing really happening, then this may be the book for you. Otherwise skip it!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. At first, I had a hard time getting into the story, not because it wasn’t interesting, but because the writing was a little bit purple for my taste. It was mostly a personal preference thing, and I think the author was trying to use the writing style to give the reader a sense of the characters. There were also a few times the story veered off the tracks in a way that was a bit distracting. The second half of the book really shone though! It’s an interesting premise, and worth a read if you can stomach a ‘disaster’ story right now!
pretty hard to get into at first but was a breeze once i did. extremely interesting to see that the movie actually changed quite a bit especially pretty huge plot elements. the constant pov changing definitely worked for me and i felt the characters were pretty human/realistic. personally think the film stuck the landing better but i didn’t hate this one.
This book has an ominous feel from the start, but what happens isn't what one might expect. It's compelling, and I recommend it. Don't read spoilers first!
