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micksland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. I have a very high tolerance for darkness and violence in literature, with the caveat that the subject must be handled reasonably well. If an author is going to write a novel set in 21st century New York City, I do expect some modern sensibilities from my characters.
SPOILERS for the first 1/3 of the novel (I won't spoil the ending, though).
Emma Valentine, wife of the protagonist Apollo Kagwa, suffers from postpartum depression after the birth of her child. In a violent rage, she breaks Apollo's jaw with a hammer and disappears. He spends weeks in the hospital undergoing reconstructive surgery. Later in the novel, he seems to forget all about this incident and forgives her without ever mentioning it.
Can you imagine the critics' reactions if the genders had been reversed? What is going on here? (And that's not even getting into the novel's treatment of postpartum depression, which I also found to be pretty lacking)
Despite the fact that there IS an engaging plot and a mystery to solve here, I could never get past the fact that this horrific episode of violence was just dropped by the narrative, never to be examined critically or spoken of by the characters again. This is a massive miss by the author in what could have otherwise been a very emotionally charged story, had the material been handled in a more subtle or realistic way.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Child abuse
Moderate: Racism
bluecanarylite's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Child death and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse and Racism
jennshelfishlife's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, and Domestic abuse
jaqxun's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Cursing, Blood, Death, Torture, Gun violence, and Murder
jess4276's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse, Racism, Cursing, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
stephanielee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal death
sarah984'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Child death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Stalking, Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm, Alcohol, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Police brutality
quabbityash's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Child death
dckathleen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I did finish it, but found it to be too long and kind of frustrating. There were too many weird elements. I get whet the overall goal was, but it felt disjointed.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Gore, and Child death
finchthearcher's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child death, Medical content, Murder, and Stalking
Minor: Domestic abuse and Abandonment