Reviews

The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall

bookishwillowdusk's review against another edition

5.0

I'm going to preface my review by saying I somehow managed to pick up an unedited proof of the novel. This made things a little bit more difficult. There were a lot of run-on sentences and incorrect words and spelling. I felt many of the ideas weren't fleshed out properly. But who knows, maybe the actual book would have been different.
Aside from, again, reading something unedited, this book was incredible. I was told awhile back to read it because it made them think more highly of tattoos. Now being someone with a lot, and loving the lifestyle, this book really opened my eyes. There was some seriously beautiful description in here, and some passages I thought were magnificent. The lessons, of love, loss, pain and triumph were very, very strong. Who knew tattooing could be so deep, so thought-provoking? I would recommend this book definitely

dirtdiva's review against another edition

3.0

I had a hard time getting into this book. Halfway through it started to pick up a little. I did enjoy the authors style of writing. She used lots of similes that I liked. She also used lots of big words! Well big to me...I used the dictionary a few times and was wishing I had this book on my ipad because I would've been using the dictionary feature ALL the time. I felt sorry for the main character and the character that I liked the most was the very last one of the book, I wanted to read more about her! Overall I feel smarter for reading this book because now I know what ameliorated means!

minna_tuum's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

ellenplum's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

ichirofakename's review against another edition

3.0

I've been tattooed. It is an insufficient topic for a hulking victorianesque novel. It tries to punch above it's weight, resulting in a kind of belabored discursiveness. But it flow along nicely enough to be quite readible. Amost nothing works out well, nor poorly enough to be tragic. Meh.

manoeklambregts's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.0

trudecal's review against another edition

4.0

Beautifully written, although sometimes the pacing lags with long bouts of poetic self-analysis by the main character/narrator. But her historical research is incredibly well done (down to common slang words in speech), and it's a truly interesting story.

mslourens's review against another edition

informative mysterious slow-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

3.0

rawketstarling's review against another edition

2.0

Didn't even finish it. I read through half of the book, and still felt like I was reading an introduction to his life. I never even met the woman described on the back of the book. And while several people praised the author for her Faulkner-like style of writing, it would have been better for me to remember--I don't actually like Faulkner.

kiramke's review against another edition

4.0

Delightful writing, and I really appreciate the treatment of tattoo as an artform and cutural tradition. I was a bit worried because I've not had good luck with Booker Prize nominees, but I was right to trust in Sarah Hall.