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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Sexism, Torture, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I sincerely liked this book.
I think about it still.
Unlike other books with heavy themes and topics, I am also still thinking about the characters, which seem to be burned into my memory.
And the story itself...
There were so many things in here that disturbed me—ranging from oh-if-that-happened-to-a-woman-no-one-would-be-surprised to what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-with-these-children to Darrel-how-can-you-be-such-a-piece-of-shit-in-this-world —that still replay in my memory. I almost physically felt Roxy's pain of being betrayed, losing her skein (twice) and herself in the process, of Tunde understanding that he doesn't understand the world anymore, of Allie realizing that she's still just a child, of Margot dealing with sexism in politics in this shaken atmosphere, of Jos and being an outsider in a world of abnormality, of the queen of Bessapara and corruption, so much corruption.
I really only understood where (or rather when) the story took place, when I read the emails at the end (and the ones at the beginning, again) and felt dumbstruck to imagine a world, where the gender roles have always been (at least it seems this way) and probably will always be switched from ours. (Not to mention the fact that the "emancipation" of women took only a few years to induce a day zero and the end of all civilization.)
This book is such a great version of a "What if" that many people might have had in their mind for a long time (I most definitely had), without giving an objective answer on the necessity or inevitability of this redistribution of... the power.
I think about it still.
Unlike other books with heavy themes and topics, I am also still thinking about the characters, which seem to be burned into my memory.
And the story itself...
There were so many things in here that disturbed me—
This book is such a great version of a "What if" that many people might have had in their mind for a long time (I most definitely had), without giving an objective answer on the necessity or inevitability of this redistribution of... the power.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
Ensimmäiset sanat, jotka tulevat mieleen tästä ovat outo ja ahdistava. Todella mielenkiintoinen lukukokemus... en tiedä oikein pidinkö vai en. Suoraan sanottuna olen todella hämmentynyt. Pakko kuitenkin antaa 3 tähteä. Sen verran vetävää tekstiä, ettei voinut muuta kuin kääntää vielä yhden sivun lisää.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Увлекательная зеркалка. А что если однажды женщины станут сильным полом? Как изменится наш мир?
Спойлер - никак.
Спойлер - никак.
dark
tense
Let me just say this books loses a star for how awful the audiobook experience was, the accents were so grating, I probably would’ve enjoyed it more had I read a physical copy. That being said, this book would be great as a short story. The theme is solid, hierarchies are bad even with women on top, but the plot is simultaneously boring and chaotic and there is not a single sympathetic character in it. Not for me.
It was the final half of the book that gave it the fourth star for its creativity and originality. I was set on giving it a minimum of three stars because the first few chapters did not captivate me enough and I was torn whether to continue reading. Although there were graphic violent and sexual scenes which made me uncomfortable, the book gave me a valuable perspective on gender. My overall takeaway is that physical superiority matters more than we give it credit and drives so much of how we behave and perceive others.