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300 reviews for:

Blue Skies

T.C. Boyle

3.72 AVERAGE

d_aniela's review

4.0
funny reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

andreas71's review

5.0
challenging dark emotional funny informative sad medium-paced

moomin333's review

3.0
challenging informative reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

T.C. Boyles Blue Skies ist ein ebenso unterhaltsamer wie erschreckender Roman über die allmählich bröckelnde Normalität in Zeiten des Klimawandels. Die Handlung ist spannend und gut erzählt – ich war schnell in der Geschichte drin und wollte wissen, wie es weitergeht. Boyle schafft es, seine Figuren so lebendig und glaubwürdig darzustellen, dass man mit ihnen mitfühlt, selbst wenn ihre Lebensstile oder Entscheidungen fragwürdig sind.

Anfangs hatte ich den Eindruck, dass das zentrale Thema – der Klimawandel – zu kurz kommt. Angesichts der Dringlichkeit hätte ich erwartet, dass es gleich zu Beginn stärker thematisiert wird. Doch je weiter die Geschichte fortschreitet, desto mehr wird klar: Der Klimawandel ist die unsichtbare Kraft im Hintergrund, die nach und nach alles beeinflusst. Mal tritt er deutlicher in den Vordergrund, mal bleibt er subtil – aber er ist immer präsent, wie eine unsichtbare Bedrohung, die sich langsam in das Leben der Figuren einschleicht.

Diese Herangehensweise macht das Buch letztlich so eindringlich: Es zeigt, wie tief wir bereits mitten in der Krise stecken, ohne es immer wahrhaben zu wollen. Blue Skies ist kein klassischer Katastrophenroman, sondern ein leiser, aber umso wirkungsvollerer Kommentar zur Gegenwart – ironisch, tragisch und beklemmend realistisch.
mary_josephine's profile picture

mary_josephine's review

4.75
adventurous challenging dark funny reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
challenging dark emotional sad slow-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: Yes

Blue Skies left me disillusioned. 

While California is burning to the ground and Florida is drowning in the sea, different family members try to hang on to their regular lives. With characters that are too real and ignorant to be likeable, yet not pointed enough to make for a humorous read, working myself through the plot felt rather strenuous. Especially as developments in the plot are most often another bleak and miserable turn in the life of a protagonist, that come sudden and unexpected and don’t allow for tension to build. At the same time, everything is inevitably sliding towards the abyss. 

Boyle's outstanding ability to draw the characters so genuinely deserves applause, but unfortunately also means that at the end of the book there seems to be little hope for a better world. 

sgoldbe2's review

4.0
adventurous challenging dark funny sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Dark! Bleak! I had nightmares about ticks and mosquitoes. All that aside, this book had me wrapped around its finger. I was on edge as soon as the second chapter started and through the very end. This was my first book by T.C. Boyle and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Verrückte Familie, die in noch verrückteren Zeiten versucht ein ganz normales Leben zu führen. Spannend und erschreckend zugleich
flowerchild1965's profile picture

flowerchild1965's review

5.0
adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes