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katiesully1000's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: War, Child abuse, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
butlerebecca's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Truly baffled by how one person can make a book that’s both academically specific and written with such beautiful prose
It took adjusting to adapt to the magical realism/fantasy elements but I really like how it simplified and represented the complicated facts of colonial empire
Learned a lot too - felt like what people do with hiding medication in peanut butter for dogs - like oh here’s a novel whoops bonus you also just read a textbook!
Graphic: Physical abuse, Classism, Death, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, War, Colonisation, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug use, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
ira_22_3's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
HOWEVER. The plot didn't feel very intentional to me, it seemed to drag on and either spend way too much time on things or jump from one thing to the other. I didn't particularly connect with any of the characters, nor did I understand their actions at times. I'm sad to say that it just wasn't for me.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Suicide
aturb92's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
We wont’ talk about the ending, but it is what it is.
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Suicide, Racial slurs, and Murder
jiwiz's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
I'd describe this book in one sentence as a loud 'Fuck you' to western colonialism. I've seen people criticise how on-the-nose it is. It drives its point home in such a glaringly obvious way that it's impossible to misinterpret it. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that quality. There are definitely moments where I think it could've been communicated more subtly. The magic system was also a little difficult for me to understand, but maybe that's the audiobook effect, or it was meant to be a little abstract. I did enjoy the characters. I saw myself a lot in Robin.
Overall, I enjoyed it. Solid read for someone like me with a very casual interest in language and etymology!
Graphic: Racism, Death, Colonisation, Murder, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Torture, Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Violence, Racism, and Suicide
Minor: Blood
lailaps's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism and Suicide
johannaplatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: War, Murder, Colonisation, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Suicide, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
marygeer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Suicide
kaamezcua2's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Misogyny, Racism, and War
mereas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Besides the foundation to this historical fantasy, the found-family trope touched my soul. I am a sucker for the most of unlikely friends to become a group of four. Between the lines, there are undertones of queer sentiments that also resonated with me, though they do not go further than just that. This, I did not mind because the characters are constantly in survival mode whether physically or emotionally. The reality underneath Rebecca F. Kuang's words is like a goldfish peaking above the water's surface--the social arguments always felt natural and fluid, which hurt the most.
Language holds so much power, yet it can just as easily be lost.
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On a side note, I love to find authors' favorite diction. Rebecca F. Kuang is biased to: teeter, tranquility, translation.
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"'Because you're a good translator.' Ramy leaned back on his elbows. 'That's just what translation is, I think. That's all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they're trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands'" (535).
"Oxford relied on silver, how without the constant labour of its translation corps, of the talent it attracted from abroad, it immediately fell apart. It revealed more than the power of translation. It revealed the sheer dependence of the British, who, astonishingly, could not manage to do basic things like bake bread or get safely from one place to another without words stolen from other countries" (471). This, made me question what else can stand in for silver. Oil. Petroleum. Fast fashion. And, at what cost?
Graphic: Slavery, Death, Sexism, Xenophobia, Suicide, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Addiction, and Panic attacks/disorders