Reviews

Das Licht der letzten Tage by Emily St. John Mandel

kaz9's review against another edition

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3.0

Neither loved nor hated this. I liked the fact that the author decided to imagine the actual point of apocolypse rather than setting the whole thing deep in the aftermath, shrouded in a kind of mystical amnesia, which a lot of post-apocolyptic novels do. She really makes you feel what it must be like to watch everything fall apart.

None of the characters felt quite developed enough for me. I wanted to know Kirsten better - she was interesting in theory - but without any knowledge of how she came to be the knife-throwing survivalist she is, it's hard to really feel for her. Arthur and and Miranda's love seemed to come and go without much reason. The whole thing felt like a newspaper report on the subject of a relationship, which on some level maybe it was.

To sum it up, I loved the world she built, but the people in it didn't quite grab me.

bjhenning's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars. It was kind of hard to follow on audio with the timeframe shifting back and forth between present and past, but a good story.

osean93's review against another edition

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dark hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

swbowers's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

jo_elle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

vanvidra's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

anaurrutia's review against another edition

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4.0

Ok, me gustó bastante. Ciertamente al lado de las de Octavia Butler resulta un poco bastante light (tanto en lo que se refiere a violencia, crudeza y realismo, como en profundidad de la reflexión), pero está bien, sobre todo por el tema de lo muy cómodo que vivimos con esto de la electricidad y el internet y lo poco que reparamos en ello. Muy entretenida, aunque el planteamiento es algo largo, hay que aguantar un poco para llegar a la parte donde te picas. Es un libro escrito antes de la pandemia de COVID-19 y no me queda claro si eso le da o quita fuerza al argumento, pero como hay una parte en la que habla del multiverso y la posibilidad de diferentes dimensiones de realidad, pienso que cae bastante bien. En fin, se disfruta.

aaronjs's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

clojha2's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

jknoxwhite's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Will created and compelling, the narrative was unique and the story kept giving small, appreciatiated surprises. 

An ensemble story about Loss and community and survival and also about the ties that bind us together with each other. 

A bit dark, as a book about a catastrophic pandemic would be, but slightly hopeful, maybe? Not entirely bleak.