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kaiyakaiyo'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? Yes
2.0
warm bodies starring nicolas fucking hoult managed to make me feel more about an apocalypse and the ~literary~ elements of this book are so overwrought it borders on self-sucking. the most poignant moments in this story are overshadowed by clunky cult shenanigans, a terrible flashback and flash-flashback structure, and an incredibly silly detour into strange & unnecessary sex. not to sound like the internet purity police but the phrase “Schwarzenegger dick” should be banned on every continent. jail for 1000 years
when are synopses going to stop using “satirical” and “deadpan” when they just mean that the author is too dry to write an actual apocalyptic novel so they wrote some handwavy overly meta shadow of one & called it literary fiction. boooooooo tomatoes tomatoes
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Blood, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Religious bigotry
skyba3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Stalking, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child death, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Death, Gore, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Body horror, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Confinement
Moderate: Blood, Drug use, Classism, Addiction, Racism, Alcohol, Vomit, Drug abuse, and Cursing
minnxes'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? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Blood, Gore, Murder, and Pregnancy
sakisreads'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
4.5
Ling Ma captures the boredom of day-in, day-out hustle culture for the big men; in her Bible production job in New York, it’s evident she’s not loving life but she’s just keeping it going.
In sharp contrast, her perspective on Shen Fever taking over the city and her having to join this group of ‘survivors’ is so interesting and once I’d gotten into the different flashbacks I couldn’t put this book down.
I really loved the ending to this book as well. I wasn’t sure what I expected to happen in the end but I’m glad it ended the way it did 🥹
I would highly recommend this to people who are fans of reading Asian literature and about the immigrant experience… All with a twist. This book reminded me a little bit of The School for Good Mothers! Thank you so much ❤️
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death of parent
devin_raquel'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
4.5
Ling Ma writes in a way where time feels circular rather than linear; the past melting into the present and vice versa. The main characters’ life before “the fever” mage just as important as her life after “the end.” We all are different people after having lived through a global pandemic, and I think Ma captures this beautifully.
Leaving the ending open to interpretation seemed like a hopeful choice on behalf of the author. Maybe Candace finds another colony of survivors, maybe she gets reunited with Jonathan, maybe there is a happy ending after all. Or, maybe as the book suggest Candace succumbs to “the fever” and looses herself to a meaningless routine like the others.
Minor: Blood, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Death, Violence, Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Gun violence
helliepad's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There's a connection between Candace and the Latin blue collar workers, Manny from reception and Eddie from the cab, that she chose at first to be closer to the rich WASP Art Girls than Manny who asks about her day and is worried about her health; and then at the end when the world left her to find friendship in Eddie only when
The title was mentioned during Candace's memory of her father and it talks about seperating themselves from their pasts (severing from the homeland and roots like cutting an umbilical cord, that messy painful love that all overseas workers have a word for), but it could also work as severance pay, especially when what kickstarted Candace on her journey to
How much appeal does the American dream have to this day? To have the luxury but to live in emptiness? To go home and be with family but due to the nature of going after that dream be prevented from being able to do so? To surrender yourself to the work and routines of a city and a job until death, and even then? Is a person wrong for working? Is a city wrong for demanding of its citizens? What does it mean to be rootless and homeless yet having a home before you even go there?
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy and Blood
Minor: Suicide
bluejayreads's review
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Body horror, Gun violence, Blood, and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide, Gore, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual content, Drug use, Car accident, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Vomit
Existential horror, existential despairwretchen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content and Sexual content
aandromeda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
booksandmo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit