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shieldbearer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If nothing else, this quote is the soul of the story:
<quote> "Why do we not make the story more premium than life? It seems to me that we are making the story even inferior. We often make ourselves appear as though we are foolish people, and we make our voyage, which was an ennobled voyage, appear very normal and second rate. We could give your grandfather two arms, and could make him high-fidelity. We could give Brod what she deserves in the stead of what she gets. We could even find Augustine, Jonathan, and you could thank her, and Grandfather and I could embrace, and it could be perfect and beautiful, and funny, and usefully sad, as you say. We could even write your grandmother into your story. This is what you desire, yes? Which makes me think that perhaps we could write Grandfather into the story. Perhaps, and I am only uttering this, we could have him save your grandfather. He could be Augustine. August, perhaps. Or just Alex, if that is satisfactory to you. I do not think that there are any limits to how excellent we could make life seem.” </quote>
I have so many thoughts and feelings about this, and how it relates to the repeated urge of an audience to erode away the uncomfortable or sad aspects of literature- the "fan" response to Brokeback Mountain comes to mind. There is a lot of not so "premium" things in the novel, and this is the point the author is trying to make.
My one real sticking point is the Romani girl. I truly feel as if she could have been handled better, especially as shes' the only Romani character in the novel, and the establishment that her family was abusive on top of that does put a bitter taste in my mouth, and not in the bracing way I got from the rest of the novel.
Graphic: War, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexism, Hate crime, Infidelity, Grief, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Genocide, and Cursing
Moderate: Excrement, Suicide, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
roxyunderscored's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Suicide, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, and Antisemitism
alyssatuininga's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, War, Sexual assault, and Violence
_yumitsang_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Rape, Hate crime, Violence, Grief, Suicide, War, and Xenophobia
leilorenzo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, War, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, and Genocide
Minor: Vomit, Violence, Police brutality, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, and Fire/Fire injury
yaarit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for all the unnecessary pedophilia peppered through the book.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Torture, Hate crime, and Genocide