Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

3 reviews

clemrain's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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? No

4.5

I picked this up not knowing it was a sequel. Regardless, I don’t think it’s necessary to read the first book (though I intend to) because I didn’t feel lost.

This book made me cry. It was written so softly and always punched you hard when you’re not expecting it. The pacing is brilliant. Slow in the following of the journey, tense and fast in difficult situations. It flows well. I didn’t find myself bored at all. 

The characters mean a lot to me. I wanted them safe. And each brutality to them hit me. I’m happy with the ending but it is bittersweet. Leaves room for another book but I wouldn’t say it’s a necessity.

I really appreciated how  Indigenous cultures and ideas took center in this book. It wasn’t an apocalypse more than it was how people thrive and follow their beliefs even in hard times. There’s a lot of talks about “land being reclaimed” in the apocalyptic genre, but I’ve found they create an antagonistic caricature of tribal cultures. This book is what I would expect realistically what cultures who connect with the land would do. 

The white man being an oppressor is never going to end it seems. I couldn’t find the addition of white supremacy in these times unrealistic. It could’ve been easy to create savages of these white groups just as much as it is  for white literature to do the same to Indigenous cultures. However, I didn’t find that to be the case. As much as these characters weren’t centred, they were still more than just a foreign entity. And a realistically scary one too.


Overall, this book doesn’t have much in terms of plot. It’s very similar to The Road. There is a journey, and the story isn’t about the destination. You have to care about the journey. And I did. Great read.

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raptorq's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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bookishcori's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0


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