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mrscorytee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I am not smart enough for this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
shizuyea's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bookishbrenbren's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was... good. But hella confusing... the parts I enjoyed most were also the parts that confused me the most lol particularly the narration by a Greek chorus/godlike first personal plural robot/ai/overlords, also the snippets from the book within the book. All in all, highly worth the read but also very off putting? I guess?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Violence, Abandonment, Drug abuse, and Homophobia
despina19's review
I was all in for a story about family and grief and anticipated many layers to this story.
I have only DNF’d 1 book prior to this, ever.
For me, this seemed like it was intentionally confusing. It doesn’t make sense…how does post-partum depression survive an apocalypse? Where there aren’t any humans left? Are these Coral’s strange thoughts because she’s her lost sense of what is real vs what she writes about in her fictional work? Why do her friends want to eat her flesh? Why does she want them to turn into bats and shit all over the patrons at the restaurant they are at?
I am all for writers keeping you guessing for as much of the novel that is needed to tell the story their way, but after 40 pages, I should understand SOMETHING about this section - “we understand a part of what Coral had to do. We have had to be many kinds of people across many points of history, or, in Coral’s case, the future.” What?!
And while the book within the book is a feature that always piques my interest, it seems like the writer wanted to make points about greed, guns and humans wanting too much and is sacrificing the story to do it.
Some of the sentences are pretty, but for me, I couldn’t justify continuing. I skimmed further and could tell it continues this way, and I promised myself I would DNF if something isn’t working for me because there are so many great books that will work for me out there. Maybe this will work for someone else.
I have only DNF’d 1 book prior to this, ever.
For me, this seemed like it was intentionally confusing. It doesn’t make sense…how does post-partum depression survive an apocalypse? Where there aren’t any humans left? Are these Coral’s strange thoughts because she’s her lost sense of what is real vs what she writes about in her fictional work? Why do her friends want to eat her flesh? Why does she want them to turn into bats and shit all over the patrons at the restaurant they are at?
I am all for writers keeping you guessing for as much of the novel that is needed to tell the story their way, but after 40 pages, I should understand SOMETHING about this section - “we understand a part of what Coral had to do. We have had to be many kinds of people across many points of history, or, in Coral’s case, the future.” What?!
And while the book within the book is a feature that always piques my interest, it seems like the writer wanted to make points about greed, guns and humans wanting too much and is sacrificing the story to do it.
Some of the sentences are pretty, but for me, I couldn’t justify continuing. I skimmed further and could tell it continues this way, and I promised myself I would DNF if something isn’t working for me because there are so many great books that will work for me out there. Maybe this will work for someone else.
breanneporter's review against another edition
I wanted to love this and I think the author is doing some really interesting things (I like the framing of “The department of…” to toggle between present and past events) but it’s just a struggle to get through on audio and I really hate the story-within-the-story, which keeps stopping the flow, for me. I would like to try to finish this one on digital/paperback at some point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Grief
bysherawilliams's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
momo99's review
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
mbmayo's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is not for everyone, but I loved it.
Coral finds her younger brother, the last member of her immediate family, dead in his home. She calls an ambulance, goes to the hospital, but when she returns she doesn't share the news with others. Instead she begins to impersonate him through his phone, texting with his daughter, coworkers, girlfriend, etc. It is interspersed with excerpts from Coral's novel, memories from her past, and meditations on what it means to be human.
Coral finds her younger brother, the last member of her immediate family, dead in his home. She calls an ambulance, goes to the hospital, but when she returns she doesn't share the news with others. Instead she begins to impersonate him through his phone, texting with his daughter, coworkers, girlfriend, etc. It is interspersed with excerpts from Coral's novel, memories from her past, and meditations on what it means to be human.