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nny_c's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Overall, the parts in which we follow Ye Wenjie’s life were consistently more enjoyable for me to read than the rest of the book. She is the only mildly interesting character, which can in part be attributed to the Execution Scene in the beginning. It is through her that we are told the history of China’s Cultural Revolution, repressions, political agenda, and the state of the scientific community. But even here the book’s biggest shortcoming undercuts the enjoyment — this is by far the most exposition-heavy book I’ve read in a long time.
The very few characters that actually matter and stick around for long enough — Ye Wenjie, Wang Miao, Da Shi — just have things happen to them most of the time, their agency insignificant compared to the amount of information the book tries to force on you. And when they actually do something, although their motivations are for the most part clear, the lack of any kind of discernible personality behind these names on the page makes the stakes that much lower.
However, I feel like I must mention, that my issue with the amount of exposition, especially when it came to unbearably frequent crush-courses on physical phenomena and occasional mathematical theory, is much more personal because I have studied astrophysics. So I don’t want to make claims about how interesting these parts of the book may be to someone not connected to this topic at all. But I still believe that the delivery could have used a lot of work: the information is just being monologued to one of the main characters by slightly less important ones, the most ‘creative’ storytelling device was framing some info-dumping as an interrogation record by the very end.
I do feel bad for talking about this book in such a negative light, but it does surprise me just how praised it is, considering the experience I got from it. I can attribute at least part of its popularity in the West to a fascination with the themes of revolution and repressions under China’s communist party. But considering where I am from, it is an inseparable part of who I am and my culture, so these topics lack shock value for me.
Granted, it is only the first part of a trilogy, but I cannot imagine picking up the other two books, at least not in the foreseeable future.
5/10 — barely finished it tbh.
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
braynard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Blood and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
Unshown but referenced suicides. A character is beaten to death early on.bestknownfor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, and Violence
soitis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
tungstenmouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Murder, Grief, Death of parent, Cursing, and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, and Confinement
frankensteinteen's review against another edition
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence
aseel_reads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide and Murder
fruya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Murder, Confinement, and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Medical content