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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
My all time favorite book. Part poetry, part allegory, part narrative... the writing enticed me to attempt the book just one more time all through college, until I finally found my affinity for it. My life has consistently spiralled back to poor Kerewin, and I still haven't found what brings me back time after time. Is it the language? The landscape? The story of Simon, finally able to speak and integrate his trauma? I am now finding that Simon gave me unbelievable empathy for my own child, who's experiences in life are not that different.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
Descriptive language is sometimes amazing ... BUT... looking up frequent Maori phrases (back of the book) was annoying. (Footnotes anyone?!?)
'hearing' a character's thoughts / seeing through their eyes does give deep insight ...BUT... I'm sometimes not sure which character this is, disjointed thought processes often lose me, I sometimes give up on paragraphs and skip to the next.
Reality vs dream world... all well and good, but I'm not always sure which is which. This is probably a deliberate ploy by the author, but brings me to a new level of disorientation when coupled with disjointed thoughts and character confusion.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. I'm pretty sure I know what happened (in broad terms - I probably missed some details) and the narrative style was interesting, if frustrating at times.
The book follows the push-pull dynamics between the three main characters, their journey to find a place where they are 'together-apart' from each other, reconciled to themselves but part of a community, at peace with the ghosts of their past and comfortable with their mixed-ethnicity...
The three main characters are odd, definitely flawed but ultimately human and loveable and this is what carried the book for me.
Descriptive language is sometimes amazing ... BUT... looking up frequent Maori phrases (back of the book) was annoying. (Footnotes anyone?!?)
'hearing' a character's thoughts / seeing through their eyes does give deep insight ...BUT... I'm sometimes not sure which character this is, disjointed thought processes often lose me, I sometimes give up on paragraphs and skip to the next.
Reality vs dream world... all well and good, but I'm not always sure which is which. This is probably a deliberate ploy by the author, but brings me to a new level of disorientation when coupled with disjointed thoughts and character confusion.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. I'm pretty sure I know what happened (in broad terms - I probably missed some details) and the narrative style was interesting, if frustrating at times.
The book follows the push-pull dynamics between the three main characters, their journey to find a place where they are 'together-apart' from each other, reconciled to themselves but part of a community, at peace with the ghosts of their past and comfortable with their mixed-ethnicity...
The three main characters are odd, definitely flawed but ultimately human and loveable and this is what carried the book for me.
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an extremely difficult book to read. It is long, the font (in the copy I had) was small, and the writing style was unique, but hard to follow. I got the basic gist of the story, but I'm sure I missed a lot of what the author was trying to convey.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail
Brilliant story. Unusual yet very appealing. On the dark side so if books without clear happy ending and complex and disturbing stories this is not the book for you.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A rollercoaster of a story
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes