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izzyrbell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Murder, Religious bigotry, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death
pacifickat'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
4.25
A lot of disappointed reviewers seemed to want this book to be more than it was, the plot to follow a traditional post-apocalyptic road narrative, with characters fighting for survival in a dystopian landscape punctuated by violent encounters. However, Mandel seems to resist these expected devices, focusing instead on how humans are connected across time and space, nature and technology, and generations. The pandemic in this story demarcates a divide between past and present, a clear before and after. But, is existence more than our perceived notion of time and oir relationship to pivotal moments in history? Does a web of interconnectivity carry through all existence even when we cannot perceive it, even when the world seemingly ends? What is this reality we’re living in? Is it patterned beforehand, or only when looked at it in retrospect, like a forest ecosystem growing organically together? Can meaning and beauty miraculously arise out of mundanity and messiness? Is being briefly and beautifully alive and part of a cosmic whole enough of a miracle in itself? Do we make stories, or do the stories make us? What exists because of us, and what exists outside of us?
It’s complicated.
This seeming magic encircles and envelops conscious existence, but goes unnoticed by the humans navigating the complexities of the pre-pandemic modern world, or fighting to survive in post-pandemic reality. A repeated element of looking upward to the sky when faced with death carries throughout, perhaps searching for sufficient meaning or beauty when survival is not guaranteed and everything finally falls still. Is this akin to the sublime moment the actress dissolves into Titania on stage, her stained wedding gown becoming the adornment of a magical fairy queen?
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Suicide
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Child death, and Pedophilia
Minor: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
potassiumk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Death, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide and Alcohol
Minor: Rape
saracino's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Gun violence
Minor: Rape
krispyyk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Death, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault
rainbowarpaint'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Death
daniellekat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Gun violence
Minor: Rape and Adult/minor relationship
reggiethebird'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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, Violence, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Rape
mari_books'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
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Blood, Kidnapping, Slavery, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, and War
quinnyquinnquinn'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: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Gun violence
Minor: Suicide and Rape