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carojust's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
This is a story about survival, solitude, human connection, and the great frontier. It's centered around a true hero, Håkan, a boy from Sweden who is lost and alone upon arriving in San Francisco, wandering into old age.
Hernan Diaz has the ability to create such a vivid world with what feels like effortless simplicity. Like in "Trust," he's able to illustrate every detail with historical loyalty, drawing you into worlds of goldmining, Native American families, naturalists, and the animals, deserts and plains of America.
A good portion of the book is dedicated to Håkan's isolation away from a society that has traumatized him, and these moments of carefully learning how to survive remind me so much of "I Who Have Never Known Men." If you love that book, you'll love this one. Both heroes are innocent in how they perceive other humans, while entirely shaped by nature.
Also, that loyal burro, I hope he lived a happy life 🥺
Hernan Diaz has the ability to create such a vivid world with what feels like effortless simplicity. Like in "Trust," he's able to illustrate every detail with historical loyalty, drawing you into worlds of goldmining, Native American families, naturalists, and the animals, deserts and plains of America.
A good portion of the book is dedicated to Håkan's isolation away from a society that has traumatized him, and these moments of carefully learning how to survive remind me so much of "I Who Have Never Known Men." If you love that book, you'll love this one. Both heroes are innocent in how they perceive other humans, while entirely shaped by nature.
Also, that loyal burro, I hope he lived a happy life 🥺
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
pollyflorence's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical trauma, and Murder