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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
It took me a little while to get into this, just because it takes a little bit of a leap trying to imagine people as boroughs and whole cities. Jemisin writes challengingly, she wants you to do part of the work, to try to understand what it's like to embody part of an enormous city and to face seemingly unsurmountable challenges when you've only just become who you're meant to be. But I loved the characters, the women are fantastic and the men are really unusual, and everyone blends together really well. It's a truly modern novel as well, and unapologetically political. A unique novel from a unique writer.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was incredibly imaginative. Only NK Jemisin could envision the five Burroughs of New York as avatars and have those avatars be so nuanced and accurate. (I'd love to know how a Staten Islander feels). Her imagery of NY being a living thing jumped off the page. I also loved how NK Jemisin laid out the stakes of losing by highlighting the downfall or failures of other cities. Excellent writing, as usual.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I haven't read a book from her I don't like. Her diversity is incredible and the world's she builds are amazing. She's definitely my favorite author
slow-paced
This was probably one of the hardest books to get through I’ve read all year.
Conceptually, I understand the idea behind the story, emphasizing stereotypes to convey the narrative. However, it was frustrating. You have so many main characters that they all feel kind of forgotten, and the story itself feels so nonsensical that there’s no real sense of danger. It’s not grounded in anything, so the stakes feel so low that you’re just affronted by the caricatures the author has drawn.
To classify New York the way the author did, you have to have a very shallow impression of the city - or at least one that is defeatist and cynical.
Particularly with Staten Island, it leaned so hard into the stereotypes that it ruined what was already a negative read even further. There is racism and xenophobia and classism throughout nyc. It’s in every borough, everywhere you look if you look for it. However, at the same time, so is the good. I’ve met just as many people from SI who are accepting and embody the spirit of nyc as I have from anywhere else in the city, and the reverse is equally true.
I think that the plot relies so heavily on stereotypes that when you read them and know them to be false, it falls apart. Something within you rebels against the entire premise, and it makes the book a horridly sluggish read.
I only even gave it two stars because after the first chapter and interlude it at least became tolerable in terms of writing style.
Conceptually, I understand the idea behind the story, emphasizing stereotypes to convey the narrative. However, it was frustrating. You have so many main characters that they all feel kind of forgotten, and the story itself feels so nonsensical that there’s no real sense of danger. It’s not grounded in anything, so the stakes feel so low that you’re just affronted by the caricatures the author has drawn.
To classify New York the way the author did, you have to have a very shallow impression of the city - or at least one that is defeatist and cynical.
Particularly with Staten Island, it leaned so hard into the stereotypes that it ruined what was already a negative read even further. There is racism and xenophobia and classism throughout nyc. It’s in every borough, everywhere you look if you look for it. However, at the same time, so is the good. I’ve met just as many people from SI who are accepting and embody the spirit of nyc as I have from anywhere else in the city, and the reverse is equally true.
I think that the plot relies so heavily on stereotypes that when you read them and know them to be false, it falls apart. Something within you rebels against the entire premise, and it makes the book a horridly sluggish read.
I only even gave it two stars because after the first chapter and interlude it at least became tolerable in terms of writing style.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No