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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
kerrence30'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? No
3.75
The first half sets up the story in a slightly clunky way, introducing characters from various generations, without any links or understanding of how they are necessary to the story. This has not been an issue as a reader previously with other books with a similar set up. I would say all the characters are flawed, much like real life, which helps with familiarity as a reader, but doesn’t make them any more endearing. The style of conversation of the characters is very quirky and repetitive, which fits with the overall style of the book up until this point, but I’ll admit it gets a bit tiresome after a while.
The second half is mostly about the main storyline and ties in the other generational throwbacks as it goes which helps with understanding and the flow of the story. By the end I really enjoyed this story itself. I’m not sure how faithful or otherwise it is to the goings on in Ukraine at this time, but it feels like a worthwhile story to tell. I'm not sure how the use of specific literary devices could have been tweaked to improve the overall impression of the book.
Graphic: Genocide, Xenophobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Infidelity
Moderate: Vomit and Gun violence
Minor: Rape
lautreamont's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I earnestly laughed out loud many times and cried once reading this.
Of course, it can be quite experimental writing and not suited for everyone but if you are open to that its a wonderful book.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape
sujong127's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Genocide, and Suicide
moonlighthepburn's review against another edition
1.0
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Antisemitism, Sexism, and Misogyny
flashandoutbreak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Pregnancy, Racism, Death, Suicide, Antisemitism, War, Genocide, Ableism, Blood, Sexual content, and Infidelity
yanskeedoodle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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: Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Self harm, Death, Suicide, War, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence
strange_abalone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Genocide, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, War, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
nahae's review against another edition
2.25
Graphic: Misogyny, Child abuse, Death, and Rape
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