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lorelai_mad06's review against another edition
2.0
The whole book just felt forced and I couldn’t find myself rooting for any of the characters even if I tried. The (murder) mystery aspect and the setting in London really caught my attention and I was fairly excited to read this. (It was an assigned reading for English class btw) But the (murder) mystery aspect just came short in the end. Usually I like different POVs but in this book they were just annoying. I tried annotating the book to make it more interesting for myself but gave up halfway through and just wanted to finish it as fast as possible. A lot of details and stories felt ,like I stated earlier, forced and unnecessary it is almost as like this book hadn’t even got an editor which makes it really boring. Anna’s story definitely needs a massive trigger warning (check them before you read). Hearts and Minds just wanted too much and it was executed poorly. I bet there are way better books who also deal with the important issues hearts and minds wants to highlight that you should rather read.
d_ae's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Rape, Trafficking, and Hate crime
mheitz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
livywiley's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
😵💫this book man. i had to read this book for a school english class and unfortunately looked up the author beforehand which made me not even want to pick this book up in the first place.
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The content of this book was even more insufferable. It is fragmented and split between characters throughout the chapters which I have liked in other books but was incredibly hard to follow in this one. It doesn’t help that the author adds in random similes that have nothing to do with any part of the story. The content of the book was even more troubling and riddled with stereotypes I mean the muslim suicide bomber, the eastern european prostitute??? seriously?? not to mention the numerous problematic statements praising the white man for bringing curiosity and education to africa, and trying to praise Ian because he doesn’t force a woman he’s attracted to to have sex with him? absolutely disgusting.
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The content of this book was even more insufferable. It is fragmented and split between characters throughout the chapters which I have liked in other books but was incredibly hard to follow in this one. It doesn’t help that the author adds in random similes that have nothing to do with any part of the story. The content of the book was even more troubling and riddled with stereotypes I mean the muslim suicide bomber, the eastern european prostitute??? seriously?? not to mention the numerous problematic statements praising the white man for bringing curiosity and education to africa, and trying to praise Ian because he doesn’t force a woman he’s attracted to to have sex with him? absolutely disgusting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Islamophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Classism and Xenophobia
jackiefranklee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
susieg's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
katevane's review against another edition
2.0
As someone who enjoys both crime and literary fiction, the premise of this state of the nation novel sounded irresistible - a woman is found dead on Hampstead Heath, changing forever the lives of five strangers who are, in different ways, connected to her. The story takes in immigrants - legal and illegal - and the various classes and races that make up London society, showing the way in which they both depend on and mistrust one another. And yet this book left me cold.
The characters are all stock figures - the black Zimbabwean who is disillusioned with the England of his beloved Shakespeare, the naive East European girl who thinks she's coming to London to be a waitress, the liberal immigration lawyer fretting that she can't manage the kids without low paid foreign labour.
There is both too much plot and too little. A number of dramatic events occur, bringing these apparently unconnected characters neatly - a little too neatly - together, but for large parts of the book we are treated to the minutiae of their daily lives with little narrative tension.
The tone was quite preachy and the only characters who didn't see the world the author's way were completely unsympathetic.
Worst of all, I felt there wasn't one thing in the book that surprised me, or one story that I hadn't heard before.
The characters are all stock figures - the black Zimbabwean who is disillusioned with the England of his beloved Shakespeare, the naive East European girl who thinks she's coming to London to be a waitress, the liberal immigration lawyer fretting that she can't manage the kids without low paid foreign labour.
There is both too much plot and too little. A number of dramatic events occur, bringing these apparently unconnected characters neatly - a little too neatly - together, but for large parts of the book we are treated to the minutiae of their daily lives with little narrative tension.
The tone was quite preachy and the only characters who didn't see the world the author's way were completely unsympathetic.
Worst of all, I felt there wasn't one thing in the book that surprised me, or one story that I hadn't heard before.
libs's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of my mum's favourite books, and being home for the holidays & having read everything else, I finally read it today. And I was so disappointed.
In theory, I'd love this book. Multiple characters whose lives end up ultimately entwined? Pious left-wing views on the plight of refugees? Two things I totally love! (I am not joking; I am the perfect audience for this novel).
But the execution just felt so terrible. The characters were either stereotypes or unlikeable (or both), and the narrative felt like it often veered off into Craig lecturing us about the evils of contemporary society, in a really stilted and obvious way.
In theory, I'd love this book. Multiple characters whose lives end up ultimately entwined? Pious left-wing views on the plight of refugees? Two things I totally love! (I am not joking; I am the perfect audience for this novel).
But the execution just felt so terrible. The characters were either stereotypes or unlikeable (or both), and the narrative felt like it often veered off into Craig lecturing us about the evils of contemporary society, in a really stilted and obvious way.
shamma92's review against another edition
5.0
Good read, grips you through out, couldn't put it down.
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