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amy_park's review against another edition
Picked up as it was longslited for the women's prize and waited for a while for it to become available in the library. I wasn't interested in the narrator or emotionally invested in anything to the point I didn't care to find out the mysteries of the main character. I didn't like the writing style and was just skim reading.
isabellediggle's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I really didn't get on with this book and considered DNFing. The twist and realisation at the end was interesting but not worth payoff for the slog of the previous chapters. This book certainly had morals it wanted to convey but the execution was tedious.
discocaptain's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
what a strange book! it took me for a ride, i really loved the first third, found the second part dragging and then the third just about punted me into space. the protagonist's inner thoughts were so uniquely described, obsessed with how he kept forming opinions on things based off of how beautiful he thought they were. and of course, the main star of the show: his cousin's ugly jacket. hideous thing. it made me bark out a laugh often. i really enjoyed how surreal reading this was, like it never tipped over into magical realism it was just strange. and BOY did i hate almost every single person that we met yall were so annoying and its a testament to binyam's writing that i felt like this. good book :-) perhaps i hyped it up in my head a little, i recommend going in blind and also having a read of binyam's interviews as well she's really cool (i loved this one a lot!! https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/writer-maya-binyam-on-prioritizing-inspirational-relationships-over-professional-connections/)
sidenote: i did go CRAZY bonkers when i finished this at the library desk when it was revealed that the good looking man from the cafe was actually the protagonist's son. insane thing to do ms binyam i tip my hat off to you!!! incredible!!!
Graphic: Gore and Terminal illness
vishnu_'s review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
amalvarez0313's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
snailspace's review against another edition
4.5
anna_oreally's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lindseyzank's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
tkendri's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
motifenjoyer's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
5.0
"I looked at the sun, thinking it was still too early, but knowing that even if I believed it was still too early, whatever was going to happen to me was going to happen to me, because the time for it to happen had finally come."