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smute's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
EYEW has a fascinating premise, but although nyx is mentioned in the very first sentence on the very first page it takes a while for the story to change course. imo the first half of the book could easily stand on its own. sauma is a very observant writer and manages to capture the bleakness of depression with just the right amount of humor. sadly, the rest of the story just kind of fizzles out. i can do without a big twist, and there's a lot to love about this text as it is so i didn't mind the somewhat anticlimactic ending. what i did mind though was the subtle but still gratuitous fatphobia in many of the character descriptions
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Excrement, Pregnancy, Vomit, Drug use, Grief, Death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Cancer, Blood, Death of parent, and Bullying
malsbang's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cancer
miles's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It's... fine. Dystopian, as I knew it would be from the blurb. I really need to stop reading/believing comments on the cover because the one that made me pick up the book now was simply not true. It reads, 'Uplifting, unputdownable and mordantly funny. A brilliantly relatable and ambitious ode to the humdrum and the sublime; a truly original novel that captures the pleasures and displeasures of modern, earthly life.' Especially for the first sentence. But the novel is neither, certainly not uplifting or funny in any way. Which is fine, but annoying when you go in with the expectation that it will be and with the want for something uplifting and funny. What you're met with instead is a deep permeating sadness and emptiness.
Iris, the protagonist, is depressed and suicidal and goes to live on Nyx to escape Earth, in the hopes of finding a more meaningful existence. This, of course, doesn't happen and Nyx quickly turns out to be an empty, boring, sad existence. The Nyxians miss Earth and many of the seemingly insignificant things. All the things they were promised (organically grown food, that more humans would follow and bring supplies etc.) are good for about a year and then supplies are running out, nobody follows and they receive less food every day, slowly starving to death. Unsurprising, to be honest. It is, after all, a dystopian novel and from the beginning I didn't think anything good could come from going to Nyx. The sameness of every day, of the never-changing landscape, of not being able to go outside and feel the sun or the breeze or rain, quickly becomes boring and oppressing. As I said: the novel is fine. Not much more than that, though.
Personally, I don't find Iris relatable, but rather annoying and I honestly don't care about her or any of the other side characters. Which, of course, makes it difficult to care for the novel as a whole. It all felt a bit superficial to me; nothing felt real. Sure, Iris's Earth existence is meant to feel like that because that's how she feels, but even Iris's depression and suicidal ideations feel flat and unimportant. Maybe that's the point? I don't know.
Considering how many dystopian novels there are, this one doesn't feel particularly original, either. The idea is interesting, but to me the novel focuses too much on Iris's Earth life. I enjoyed the switching between Nyx and Earth in the first two chapters and think it would have been more compelling to keep that up, or to at least include more instances of Iris commenting on the past on Earth from Nyx with asides. The Nyx part feels too rushed to build proper tension as to what is happening and the ending also falls flat as barely anything is explained. It leaves it open-ended, as in many dystopian novels but, instead of stimulating speculation about what happened, it feels very forgettable. Which is a shame, because the idea had a lot of potential, but it just didn't land for me.
Personally, I don't find Iris relatable, but rather annoying and I honestly don't care about her or any of the other side characters. Which, of course, makes it difficult to care for the novel as a whole. It all felt a bit superficial to me; nothing felt real. Sure, Iris's Earth existence is meant to feel like that because that's how she feels, but even Iris's depression and suicidal ideations feel flat and unimportant. Maybe that's the point? I don't know.
Considering how many dystopian novels there are, this one doesn't feel particularly original, either. The idea is interesting, but to me the novel focuses too much on Iris's Earth life. I enjoyed the switching between Nyx and Earth in the first two chapters and think it would have been more compelling to keep that up, or to at least include more instances of Iris commenting on the past on Earth from Nyx with asides. The Nyx part feels too rushed to build proper tension as to what is happening and the ending also falls flat as barely anything is explained. It leaves it open-ended, as in many dystopian novels but, instead of stimulating speculation about what happened, it feels very forgettable. Which is a shame, because the idea had a lot of potential, but it just didn't land for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Abandonment, Drug use, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Vomit, and Mental illness
Minor: Death, Cancer, and Death of parent
sp4ceprince's review
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Drug use
Minor: Cancer
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