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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Through a fictional story, this book digs into the truth of the past and the present in a way that surges and rises up and hits you without warning at the end. One of the most powerful books I've read in a long time. I picked it up because of my love of early blues music, which serves as the backbone of this story, but really this story is about those whom our society has deemed are not worthy of having a voice, and how it goes about keeping those people voiceless. I won't give details since I feel this is a book that the less you know going into it, the better. But I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
The book is tagged "horror" here. I didn't find the book scary, at least not beyond the way in which things that are happening in our world are scary, but I did find it incredibly, incredibly sad.
The book is tagged "horror" here. I didn't find the book scary, at least not beyond the way in which things that are happening in our world are scary, but I did find it incredibly, incredibly sad.
A deeply unsettling story that makes you reconsider the victims and victors cultural history.
appropriating black history and delta blues to slap the prison-industrial complex with a wet newspaper? [spoiler] a black prisoner in the us's first private prison came back to haunt the family of the og white owner who are now private prison tsar-conglomerate-billionaires? lame. so canceled. [yeah yeah everyone gets the sarcastic white tears in the title]
For much of the story, this felt like a 4-star book. Music, class conflict, racial conflict, mystery, and a writing style that was erudite and a little surreal. But the last 10-20% got just a little TOO surreal, almost to the point that I wasn't sure what was happening. It's a shame, because the book's first 80-90% was really quite good.
It can be intentionally difficult to follow without a great payoff at the end. I do, however, see its value, especially to a more.... oblivious reader. One who is uninformed of how much and to what extent things are taken from nonwhite cultures and exploited.
Oh boy, where should I start? This one was like an acid trip - it had a slower start and I found myself a little impatient at the beginning but once it took off, it flew. The changing perspectives took a while to get used to and it required attention from the reader, but it was executed so well, especially towards the end of the book! There were some genuinely unsettling and thrilling scenes (coupled with reading the book past midnight and listening to the playlist Kunzru himself compiled).
Kunzru addresses the exploitation and violence that Black people face, at a point the tensions within the book reaches a high that sustains itself till the end. The book is by no means an easy read, but it was worth every page and acid trip it dragged me into.
Kunzru addresses the exploitation and violence that Black people face, at a point the tensions within the book reaches a high that sustains itself till the end. The book is by no means an easy read, but it was worth every page and acid trip it dragged me into.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced