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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed the writing style but I thought it was a touch bloated with too many competing POVs to where it began to feel a bit repetitive. Would still recommend
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was maybe my favorite book I’ve read this year. Such a beautifully told and wonderfully interwoven story. I was really impressed by the author’s ability to write so many believable, distinctive perspectives. All of the characters felt so real to me and I could imagine their lives continuing outside of the scope of their part of the book. The poetic prose style surprised me when I first started the book, but I almost immediately stopped noticing it and felt like it really created a nice flow to the story.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was well written, but my heart just didn’t connect with it. I kept expecting something more from the characters but the depth explored just felt superficial to me so I always on the outer edges- peering in. I think I opened this book, expecting to see a version of myself reflected back, only to find a distorted, carnival reflection which made it difficult to enjoy this book.
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship
Winner of the 2019 Man Booker Prize. But I have to be honest, this book was not a prize winner to me. It was good, just not great. Maybe deserves four stars, but not five. For starters, the author wrote the book as prose without any punctuation. Different, yes. But it drove me crazy. And every time I started to read it it would take me ten pages or so to get in the flow again. The book is a series of stories from the perspective of twelve different people. Some of the stories were unique, while with others I felt I had read the same story in another novel. Overall, not unhappy I read it...just disappointed given the hype I guess.
This book is both brilliant and truly pleasurable to read. I love the way Evaristo brings twelve different characters so beautifully to life in these interconnected stories, spanning years and families and illustrating the ways in which people lean on and love each other, though she never shies away from the complexities of families and friendships. Her language is a hybrid between poetry and prose, and I found it a joy to just fall into the rhythm of it all; I couldn't put it down, and I wept at the ending.
It took me a while to get through this audiobook since I started it right before an international move during the Christmas season (never again!). I love me a juicy family saga, especially one being narrated with the perceptive social commentary of the author. Her Booker Prize is well deserved!