dihafa's review against another edition
2.0
The biggest strength of The Taiga Syndrome lies in its lyrical prose, really helps to set the mood of the book; enchanting and eerie. Heavily atmospheric.
And that's it.
The Taiga Syndrome unfortunately feels a bit too jumbled for my liking, mainly because of the narrator's digressing musing(S) —while initially can be seen as a charming point, it is also what ultimately makes the story hard to enjoy as a unified whole. Intriguing premise and elements, but not quite delivered, sadly.
And that's it.
The Taiga Syndrome unfortunately feels a bit too jumbled for my liking, mainly because of the narrator's digressing musing(S) —while initially can be seen as a charming point, it is also what ultimately makes the story hard to enjoy as a unified whole. Intriguing premise and elements, but not quite delivered, sadly.
tallbox's review
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
honeymoon228's review
1.0
I am not sure if it is the translation or the author herself, but this book made no sense at all. The story went nowhere in the end and kept chopping and changing to the point where I had to go back a few pages to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I can understand wanting your writing to come across as poignant but this completely missed the mark.
halibut's review against another edition
I felt the same difficulty in getting to grips with this that I do with poetry. Just a type of literature I'm not good with.
kevinmccarrick's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-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? No
3.75
spiderfelt's review
3.0
I really don't know what I thought of this book. Most of the time I was reading it, I was trying to decide whether the character was speaking of a dream, a memory, an imaginary reality or something concrete. Was there something lost in translation or was the narrative written in an intentionally ambiguous style? I have to imagine it was the latter.
amber_hastings's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I don't know if I liked this book. I honestly couldn't say. It was completely engrossing and intriguing and strangely alluring, but it was so introspective and poetic that I couldn't really make all that much sense from it. It was dark and mysterious but not in the ways I imagined. The fairy tale references nearer the start were heavy handed at points, and then much more absent than I had thought they'd be in the rest of the book. I'm still not quite sure Hansel and Gretel was explored enough.
What are we supposed to take from it all? The brutality of what humans can do (physically, emotionally) to each other? The wildness of nature, and of its power over us? The inability to understand each other's truth? That all men are wolves? I really couldn't say. It was all a bit disturbing, but the storytelling was so beautiful that it felt disturbing in an abstract way. I'm sure other readers might make more sense from it. But regardless I am glad I read it.
What are we supposed to take from it all? The brutality of what humans can do (physically, emotionally) to each other? The wildness of nature, and of its power over us? The inability to understand each other's truth? That all men are wolves? I really couldn't say. It was all a bit disturbing, but the storytelling was so beautiful that it felt disturbing in an abstract way. I'm sure other readers might make more sense from it. But regardless I am glad I read it.