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annalisaely's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reading one of the interviews with the author, I saw he felt like the relationships and plot elements were complicated and he was weaving them together like a spider's web, and I definitely agree. This was not an optimal book for audio because I tended to miss the names that the author very kindly placed at the beginning of every chapter, so sometimes I got confused about who was speaking, which was made worse by the many interwoven relationships between the characters.
But, I figured out most of them by the end and found some of them very compelling. I was most interested in the kid who was going to collect people's oral stories, and I would have liked more time spent with him. Personally, I also prefer stories to have a more tied off ending that lets us know what happens with the characters afterward, but this just isn't that kind and is good in it's own way. I definitely felt the tension built well and that I really cared what happened to everyone.
Also from the author interview I found out the origin of the spider legs thing, which grossed me the heck out and so I had to do research on, which another reader had already done and had put in some notes about this book - apparently it's a rare thing that sometimes happens after you've been bitten by a tick. They're not spider legs, they are fibers produced by the person's own body, but thank you, Tommy Orange, for making me read that.
But, I figured out most of them by the end and found some of them very compelling. I was most interested in the kid who was going to collect people's oral stories, and I would have liked more time spent with him. Personally, I also prefer stories to have a more tied off ending that lets us know what happens with the characters afterward, but this just isn't that kind and is good in it's own way. I definitely felt the tension built well and that I really cared what happened to everyone.
Also from the author interview I found out the origin of the spider legs thing, which grossed me the heck out and so I had to do research on, which another reader had already done and had put in some notes about this book - apparently it's a rare thing that sometimes happens after you've been bitten by a tick. They're not spider legs, they are fibers produced by the person's own body, but thank you, Tommy Orange, for making me read that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Violence
Minor: Excrement
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