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elenareads's review against another edition
I didn't care about the characters. That's not quite it. The depiction of the characters made me angry. They are not characters, they are caricatures. Annabelle is a fat border - all her action are affected by the fact that she is either fat or a holder or both. The extend of her personality is fat and harder, beyond that she had no inner thoughts. I spent now so much time with her but I learned nothing about her, about what drives her and motivates her beyond fat, horder, oh yeah, and truly third place, being a mom.
Benny is just a kid who is sick. Again no inner thoughts, no motives, no hopes. He's barely there to have things happen to someone.
The Aleph is literally a manic pixie dream girl. Imagine, in this day and age. Again, we learn nothing about her inner world.
B-man is a Russian understood to be unhaused character. He got an accent. No, I mean, Ozeki took time to write down an English phonetical version of what a Hollywood east European character sounds like. You know, half German, half Slavic, half Italian. Again, amazing, in this day and age. Does it add any depth to the character, in case the reader could not imagine a Russian? I works argue no
There's are just better things to read out there
Benny is just a kid who is sick. Again no inner thoughts, no motives, no hopes. He's barely there to have things happen to someone.
The Aleph is literally a manic pixie dream girl. Imagine, in this day and age. Again, we learn nothing about her inner world.
B-man is a Russian understood to be unhaused character. He got an accent. No, I mean, Ozeki took time to write down an English phonetical version of what a Hollywood east European character sounds like. You know, half German, half Slavic, half Italian. Again, amazing, in this day and age. Does it add any depth to the character, in case the reader could not imagine a Russian? I works argue no
There's are just better things to read out there
wietse111's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinerend boek. Benji is 12 jaar als hij zn vader verliest in een tragisch ongeluk, en je volgt zijn leven de jaren daarna. Hij hoort stemmen van de objecten om hem heen, en praat met het boek. Dat laatste is het interessantste gedeelte van het boek. Het boek zelf is ook een karakter.
Mooi geschreven boek, met vooral echt hele goede karakters. De moeder, die zelf ook worstelt met depressie en verzamelzucht was een highlight, maar ook Benji en Alice zijn erg goed.
Mooi geschreven boek, met vooral echt hele goede karakters. De moeder, die zelf ook worstelt met depressie en verzamelzucht was een highlight, maar ook Benji en Alice zijn erg goed.
discoball_z's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
bronski's review against another edition
4.0
This is a beautiful story about grief, loss, and mental illness narrated by a book. I’m not sure it needed to be as long as it was, but the character development is wonderful and the writing is poetic and layered. Well deserving of the Women’s Prize.
lutecio's review against another edition
2.0
I tried really hard to connect with this book, but after 550 pages, it never really happened. Maybe it was just not my time to read it, but sadly I can't say I have enjoyed it.
kjsears's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
heron_m's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Self harm, Addiction, and Drug use
Minor: Violence and Sexual assault
afterttherain's review against another edition
3.0
“Inside? Outside? What is the difference and how can you tell? When a sound enters your body through your ears and merges with your mind, what happens to it? Is it still a sound then, or has it become something else? When you eat a wing or an egg or a drumstick, at what point is it no longer a chicken? When you read these words on a page, what happens to them, when they become you?”
dua008's review against another edition
slow-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? Yes
3.0
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
Starts strong, with a bit of a sag 3/4 of the way to the end before ending in a whirlwind. So much I loved; the idea of things speaking, their own desires affecting their personalities and what they speak of. The structure of the book is memorable and unique. The book acknowledges that you are reading, it becomes its own narrator, conversing with Benny, our protagnonist, and holding court about the bookish world.
I think you could read the ending more ambiguously; does it end as neatly as suggested? Or is it delusion? Perhaps there is something darker under the surface.
I think you could read the ending more ambiguously; does it end as neatly as suggested? Or is it delusion? Perhaps there is something darker under the surface.