Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
starts like love actually, then becomes rosemary's baby, then becomes jurassic park.
Really gripping! For some reason I thought this was a different book than what it was based on recommendation so I must have gotten it mixed up with something else but I really liked it anyway. Great pace and some moments that truly made me gasp. He wove all his strings together by the story end really well so it felt like a neat package. Would not recommend to someone with a baby.
Almost didn’t make it through to the other side on this one due to the violence towards the middle. I’m very glad a pushed though. Wonderfully written.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a lot of fun for me to read. It's the kind of book where you just have to buckle up and let the author drive, because it gets wild. I'm not sure what star rating to give it yet. I think I'll be thinking about it for a while, and I also want to read or listen to some interviews with the author about the book. There's a lot to unpack with it. I'm still eager to read the rest of Lavalle's backlist!
3.5 stars
So I have always said that I love weird genre-blendy books, but I don't think I was quite ready for what Victor LaValle had in store in The Changeling.
I went into this book completely blind, and I honestly think that is the best way to experience this beautiful trainwreck of a story. For me, the start was extremely strong and things only continued to get better and better for a long while. I absolutely adored the horror fairytale vibes that are lurking in the dark corners of this seemingly mundane narrative, and LaValle's uncannily entrancing prose just had me inexplicably spellbound from the very first page.
However, somewhere along the way, things just got a bit too wild for me. As a big fantasy lover, it's not often that you'll hear me say that I preferred a story without the fantastical elements, but I can't deny that this was the case here. While I adore how LaValle explored themes of parenthood, family, (childhood) trauma, race, security, and the power of story through a magical realism lens, there were some twists and turns in this increasingly dark and disturbing journey that just lost me personally.
And yet, the beautifully touching final pages still hit home for me, and I think LaValle absolutely accomplished what he set out to do with this story. Ultimately, I think The Changeling is one of those books that I appreciate more than I enjoy it, and I would honestly highly recommend it if you are looking for a diverse genre-blending story that is both vulnerably human and wonderfully fantastical.
So I have always said that I love weird genre-blendy books, but I don't think I was quite ready for what Victor LaValle had in store in The Changeling.
I went into this book completely blind, and I honestly think that is the best way to experience this beautiful trainwreck of a story. For me, the start was extremely strong and things only continued to get better and better for a long while. I absolutely adored the horror fairytale vibes that are lurking in the dark corners of this seemingly mundane narrative, and LaValle's uncannily entrancing prose just had me inexplicably spellbound from the very first page.
However, somewhere along the way, things just got a bit too wild for me. As a big fantasy lover, it's not often that you'll hear me say that I preferred a story without the fantastical elements, but I can't deny that this was the case here. While I adore how LaValle explored themes of parenthood, family, (childhood) trauma, race, security, and the power of story through a magical realism lens, there were some twists and turns in this increasingly dark and disturbing journey that just lost me personally.
And yet, the beautifully touching final pages still hit home for me, and I think LaValle absolutely accomplished what he set out to do with this story. Ultimately, I think The Changeling is one of those books that I appreciate more than I enjoy it, and I would honestly highly recommend it if you are looking for a diverse genre-blending story that is both vulnerably human and wonderfully fantastical.
I've had a hard time figuring out my feelings on this one. I feel like this book bounced back and forth between chaotic and boring quite a bit, and felt like it was three or more different stories smashed into one, and was just barely able to make sense. I enjoyed the whimsical, dark fairytale aspects of the story, and can't deny that it was super original. I think it had a lot of potential to be amazing, but missed the mark for me. The more boring sections of the story seemed to drag on for way too long, then when finally something more exciting was happening, just seemed chaotic and I don't feel the author did a good job at writing through those scenes and it was hard to understand what exactly was happening. That being said, there were a few good scenes where something really creepy was going on, and created a great ominous atmosphere. But then, those moments, where there was so much potential for something crazy to happen, just kinda fizzled and didn't end up going anywhere. The ending also was kind of lame in my opinion and left a lot of unanswered questions.
I also didn't particularly like Apollo (the main character) and so it was hard to really connect with any part of the story with him being at the center of it all. And what little bit Emma was in it, can't really say she did anything for me either. The "Wise Ones" were kind of an interesting group, and would have enjoyed more explanation there and more story around them. The "villain" was also super hyped up one minute, but then once again just ended up being a weak development.
I haven't watched the Apple series show adaptation for this yet, but the preview looked good and I'm hopeful that this story will translate to on screen well.
I also didn't particularly like Apollo (the main character) and so it was hard to really connect with any part of the story with him being at the center of it all. And what little bit Emma was in it, can't really say she did anything for me either. The "Wise Ones" were kind of an interesting group, and would have enjoyed more explanation there and more story around them. The "villain" was also super hyped up one minute, but then once again just ended up being a weak development.
I haven't watched the Apple series show adaptation for this yet, but the preview looked good and I'm hopeful that this story will translate to on screen well.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated