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graceheartsbooks's review
2.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Abortion
mpginter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Fatphobia and Xenophobia
tey_lynn's review
- 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? No
3.0
Minor: Murder, Grief, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Gun violence, Confinement, Death, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
cosmicpanda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Murder, Racism, Violence, Grief, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Body shaming, Deportation, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Drug use, Medical content, Sexism, Misogyny, and Rape
xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Child abuse, Violence, Body shaming, Deportation, Fatphobia, Murder, Gun violence, Racism, and Xenophobia
blackcatkai's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
UPDATE! i never did quite get my thoughts in order then i forgot to come back. overall, this one started strong but i didnt quite care for the middle or ending of this one. it wasnt bad, just bits here and there that threw me out of the story.
CW: Gun violence, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Fatphobia/body shaming, grief, murder, casual ableism
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Grief, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Minor: Ableism
nannahnannah's review against another edition
2.0
Representation:
- the main protagonist is Muslim and an immigrant from Iran
- the other PoV character is a first-generation Indian-British citizen
In a near-future “dystopian” UK, Idir Jalil takes the British Citizenship Test. But he’s barely begun when a shooter bursts in and takes him and the other test takers hostage. And when Idir draws attention to himself, he finds himself forced to choose which people die when the shooter decides to take lives.
I love the beginning. The first few chapters have such a compelling and distinct voice. But then the shooter comes into play -- and worse, the “twist” happens (I’m not sure if I can really call it a twist, because it comes so early in the story! I didn’t actually know it was supposed to be one, either, until I went back to the book’s goodreads page). In the end, another goodreads review sums it up best:
The author also bashes me over the head with one lesson in morality (and psychology) after another. It’s exhausting, even if I mostly agree with what he says (how did reverse racism and pro-cop sentiments get in there, though? No, please!). The shooter is obnoxiously childish, too, his dialogue almost laughable at times. And at one point, the prose was filled with so much telling, I forgot this was an actual published piece of work (the typo was there in the text, too):
“Deep is upset. He’s not thinking about himself at this point. [...] What Deep is experiencing is just narcissistic identification and a very strong case of narrative transportation. At this point, Deep is incapable of separating Idir’s success of failure from his own. He’s so caught up in the simulation that his feelings and opinions are filtered through the rules of the game.”
I’m being extremely critical, I’m sorry. I just didn’t see the mind-bending, mind-blowing critique of immigration I was hoping for.
Moderate: Transphobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Islamophobia
Minor: Fatphobia, Sexism, and Domestic abuse
also: being druggedkstericker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Fatphobia, and Grief
Minor: Hate crime, Islamophobia, and Racism
dealingwithdragons's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Police brutality, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Bullying
Minor: Abortion, Sexual assault, Dementia, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture
dalmavatai's review
- 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? No
3.0
As social commentary, I believe this book is extremely successful. The way that it explores the dangers of the intersection between scientific technology and xenophobia in Britain, all while the country purports to be against prejudice and discrimination, was radical in the best way possible. The dystopian future Neuvel imagines in this short story is a radical critique of our own time and the ways in which 'Western' countries in particular think that they are liberal and accepting, all while perpetuating a status quo that's still very xenophobic, racist, and Islamophobic.
However, this book wasn't for me in other ways. The explanations of science definitely went way over my head, especially because I listened to the audiobook and couldn't go back if I didn't grasp something fully. I also thought that the plot point towards the end, while I understand its function as commentary, was a bit random and I could not fully appreciate its inclusion in the story, especially as so much was going on already that I found it a bit hard to follow.
Short stories are not terribly likely to get a very high rating from me because I can't connect to the characters in such a short period of time, but this is a short story that I believe is definitely worth the read even for those not into science fiction. Maybe read the physical book (perhaps along with the audio because Neal Shah's performance is superb) if you want to stay on top of everything that's going on, though!
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Fatphobia