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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Starts great and really engaging, and then the middle just gets so inanely repetitive for no reason at all. Feels like writing and pages used for the sake of it. The penultimate chapter is excellent, and the final chapter is disappointing on a level that cannot be explained.
For a writer that has some great metaphor and imagery, albeit using way way way too much of it for the sake of it, it massively misses the age old golden rule of 'show don't tell'.
For a writer that has some great metaphor and imagery, albeit using way way way too much of it for the sake of it, it massively misses the age old golden rule of 'show don't tell'.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m sorry prophet song… I feel like I’ve let this book down… I could tell it was objectively good but I just couldn’t lock in! Was never excited to pick it up, found the style a bit challenging, and found the pacing weird - just this thing then this thing then this thing
I also think I would have preferred more of the build up and how the country ended up there than just life at war.
That being said,I did have to fight back tears on the tube when she identified Bailey !
I also think I would have preferred more of the build up and how the country ended up there than just life at war.
That being said,
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I know I don't paticularly get on with modern fiction, booker prize nominees or anything that is popular on the stereotypical book tube and that run continues.
I found the whole book quite superficial. The lack of depth and explanation as to why/how the original government managed to get in power and why anyone would actually start following them in the first place is completely absent. You only need to analyse supports of Lenin, Hitler, modern far right movements to see these movements are appealing to the emotions against a common enemy and promise utopian visions of change. What exactly is this regime doing that is similar to get in a position of power? Nobody knows and it makes the whole book less appealing.
The points of the book were spoon fed to us as readers to the point where an actual interpretation of the events is no longer necessary. An example of this is when the guerilla fighting the government become quite hard in their treatment of the general public they are fighting for. What proceeds is a whole monologue of warning by the main character to not turn into the government they are fighting against. It felt like this was only included to spoon feed us to the idea that revolutionaries who promise to end tyranny don't always end it and actually replace it. This isn't paticularly ground breaking but at least let us see events and make the point in our heads while reading instead of ramming what the pretentious author thought was a really profound point down our throats.
I've seen this book described as "character driven". Hardly. It's all plot driven and offers nothing that other books in this genre haven't done better such as 1984, animal farm, the hand maids tale etc. I'm not even sure why i've given it 3 stars, possibly because it's an important message and has clearly resonated with people at an important time, but the content itself has many flaws.
I found the whole book quite superficial. The lack of depth and explanation as to why/how the original government managed to get in power and why anyone would actually start following them in the first place is completely absent. You only need to analyse supports of Lenin, Hitler, modern far right movements to see these movements are appealing to the emotions against a common enemy and promise utopian visions of change. What exactly is this regime doing that is similar to get in a position of power? Nobody knows and it makes the whole book less appealing.
The points of the book were spoon fed to us as readers to the point where an actual interpretation of the events is no longer necessary. An example of this is when the guerilla fighting the government become quite hard in their treatment of the general public they are fighting for. What proceeds is a whole monologue of warning by the main character to not turn into the government they are fighting against. It felt like this was only included to spoon feed us to the idea that revolutionaries who promise to end tyranny don't always end it and actually replace it. This isn't paticularly ground breaking but at least let us see events and make the point in our heads while reading instead of ramming what the pretentious author thought was a really profound point down our throats.
I've seen this book described as "character driven". Hardly. It's all plot driven and offers nothing that other books in this genre haven't done better such as 1984, animal farm, the hand maids tale etc. I'm not even sure why i've given it 3 stars, possibly because it's an important message and has clearly resonated with people at an important time, but the content itself has many flaws.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced