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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great premise, weird execution.
Jag vet inte om det är jag eller boken, men jag får tvinga mig till läsning för karaktärerna känns så ointressant och handlingen likaså. Detta gör att jag nu har bestämt mig för att ge upp boken efter 119 sidor (= 34 %).
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In was permanent. But no one would force you. If you signed up, it would be of your own free will.
Let this book be a reminder to me and to all - a book being readable, having an interesting established premise, and being written by an author who is legendary for her dystopians does not equate to a good book.
This book is not good. It's not.
As mentioned, The Heart Goes Last - about a couple who finds that despite picture perfect beginnings, the world and their relationship is not turning out as they expected or hoped - starts off well enough. The stakes are high, the world has fallen into horrific vigilante disarray for believable reasons, and the alternative the couple turns to has delightfully creepy Stepford Wives vibes.
And then Atwood starts fixating on the central characters' sex lives and glibly treating sexual assault and consent like plot twists and everything falls apart. You're still engrossed in and deeply troubled by the world, but you don't actually care because there's an interesting world being developed in the background of the two main characters, who never really get to have personalities, just being completely dominated by their obsession with sex and their frustration with their lack of desire for each other.
Then Atwood decides that there haven't been enough twists and turns and suddenly you're reading a book about sex robots styled after Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, plus a process of altering brains to simulate sexual fixation on one person. By two-thirds of the way through this book you are in the midst of a completely nonsensical, unnecessarily convoluted plot that is constantly changing the world it is set in and the motivations of its characters for plot convenience.
I just... I distinctly remember Margaret Atwood being a good author, and there are certainly glimpses of that here. But only glimpses.
A whole new life. How can she get herself one of those?
Let this book be a reminder to me and to all - a book being readable, having an interesting established premise, and being written by an author who is legendary for her dystopians does not equate to a good book.
This book is not good. It's not.
As mentioned, The Heart Goes Last - about a couple who finds that despite picture perfect beginnings, the world and their relationship is not turning out as they expected or hoped - starts off well enough. The stakes are high, the world has fallen into horrific vigilante disarray for believable reasons, and the alternative the couple turns to has delightfully creepy Stepford Wives vibes.
And then Atwood starts fixating on the central characters' sex lives and glibly treating sexual assault and consent like plot twists and everything falls apart. You're still engrossed in and deeply troubled by the world, but you don't actually care because there's an interesting world being developed in the background of the two main characters, who never really get to have personalities, just being completely dominated by their obsession with sex and their frustration with their lack of desire for each other.
Then Atwood decides that there haven't been enough twists and turns and suddenly you're reading a book about sex robots styled after Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, plus a process of altering brains to simulate sexual fixation on one person. By two-thirds of the way through this book you are in the midst of a completely nonsensical, unnecessarily convoluted plot that is constantly changing the world it is set in and the motivations of its characters for plot convenience.
I just... I distinctly remember Margaret Atwood being a good author, and there are certainly glimpses of that here. But only glimpses.
A whole new life. How can she get herself one of those?
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the idea of this book but hated the execution. I wish I had dnf'ed early on.
Well I just finished The Heart Goes Last, and I'm left feeling a slight tinge of disappointment over having purchased this book over the Stone Mattress. In all seriousness I love Margaret Atwood, but this book was sorely lacking...everything.
I found the idea of Positron Prison & Consilience really intriguing , but the first half of the book was more or less boring erotica, and not until the second half to the final third, was the book actually fast paced or gripping in any way.
I guess maybe as it was depicted in previous reviews that it was heavily dystopian themed , I was expecting more MaddAddam trilogy style.
I found the female characters flimsy, depthless, and cheesy. The only characters I felt anything for were Stan and Lucinda Quant, but even those were fleeting. Especially at the first half of the book when Stan becomes so shallowly obsessive.
I even found a couple typos, which I know happen, but nevertheless irked me . Lol.
All in all the idea behind the dystopian, economically collapsed society, and positron/Consilience project were brilliant . But if only she had spent less time on some of the weird sexual themes and developed the characters more, I'd give it more than a 2.5-3 out of 5.
I found the idea of Positron Prison & Consilience really intriguing , but the first half of the book was more or less boring erotica, and not until the second half to the final third, was the book actually fast paced or gripping in any way.
I guess maybe as it was depicted in previous reviews that it was heavily dystopian themed , I was expecting more MaddAddam trilogy style.
I found the female characters flimsy, depthless, and cheesy. The only characters I felt anything for were Stan and Lucinda Quant, but even those were fleeting. Especially at the first half of the book when Stan becomes so shallowly obsessive.
I even found a couple typos, which I know happen, but nevertheless irked me . Lol.
All in all the idea behind the dystopian, economically collapsed society, and positron/Consilience project were brilliant . But if only she had spent less time on some of the weird sexual themes and developed the characters more, I'd give it more than a 2.5-3 out of 5.
Margaret Atwood once again taking an absurd idea and making it seem very plausible given the parallels in social climate. Not as iconic as Handmaid's Tale but certainly an interesting exploration.
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Atwood truly kept me on my toes with this one; I was eager to find out the full story while gasping and cringing along the way. This might be my favorite Atwood yet.
In a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" Brad & Janet-esque turn of events, these despicable characters are compelling and enduring a truly unhinged plot.
Straight actors playing gay actors playing Elvis? The Elvisorium?! HELL YES!! An inclusion of Elvis references is obviously the way to my heart.
The main con for me here was the ending - it felt as if it snuck up so fast and I truly wanted more. It's that RHPS type of ending. We meet so many characters and learn of so many plot threads that will not be neatly bowed up of course, but what Atwood did put together here all managed to wow me.
In a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" Brad & Janet-esque turn of events, these despicable characters are compelling and enduring a truly unhinged plot.
Straight actors playing gay actors playing Elvis? The Elvisorium?! HELL YES!! An inclusion of Elvis references is obviously the way to my heart.
The main con for me here was the ending - it felt as if it snuck up so fast and I truly wanted more. It's that RHPS type of ending. We meet so many characters and learn of so many plot threads that will not be neatly bowed up of course, but what Atwood did put together here all managed to wow me.