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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
slow-paced
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Set in a dystopian future, where ultra-nationalism has captured the world, we meet Adela, a woman who has just been told that she is going to die and who has never met her daughter. The story documents her first meeting with her daughter and what follows in the aftermath.
When I first read the premise of this book I had 100% thought it would be up my street. Indeed elements of it were done very well, the authors take on the dystopian future is very believable.
However, the story fell down for me in a number for me in a number of ways. I struggled with how the author wrote Adela and Tereza, women don't scoop sweat from their armpits and elements of the eroticism were very much written through the male gaze. While I appreciate the link between telomerases and salamanders , as someone who is actually a scientist it felt like buzzwords were being thrown in for the sake of it, such as references to microscopic nanobots. I had expected this to be a book that perhaps spoke back to power but alas it did not. I also found that the pendulum swinging between past and present was very jarring (indeed Adela floats off pretty much whenever she wants and we are told as much.)
Overall it was a very mixed read for me, parts of it were done quite well but large swathes of it irritated me and as I said I felt that a lot of the time the portrayal of of the characters was very stero-typical and written for the male gaze.
When I first read the premise of this book I had 100% thought it would be up my street. Indeed elements of it were done very well, the authors take on the dystopian future is very believable.
However, the story fell down for me in a number for me in a number of ways. I struggled with how the author wrote Adela and Tereza, women don't scoop sweat from their armpits and elements of the eroticism were very much written through the male gaze. While I appreciate the link between telomerases and salamanders , as someone who is actually a scientist it felt like buzzwords were being thrown in for the sake of it, such as references to microscopic nanobots. I had expected this to be a book that perhaps spoke back to power but alas it did not. I also found that the pendulum swinging between past and present was very jarring (indeed Adela floats off pretty much whenever she wants and we are told as much.)
Overall it was a very mixed read for me, parts of it were done quite well but large swathes of it irritated me and as I said I felt that a lot of the time the portrayal of of the characters was very stero-typical and written for the male gaze.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't think this story is bad, it just wasn't for me. I didn't connect with Adéla at all, and while I had some interest in the near future dystopia it didn't grip me either. Because I wasn't invested in Adéla I really didn't love the chapters set in the past about her life.
The writing was good, this just isn't the sort of story I usually read and enjoy. I thought maybe the slight sci-fi/dystopia elements might hook me, but it just wasn't enough.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the arc.
The writing was good, this just isn't the sort of story I usually read and enjoy. I thought maybe the slight sci-fi/dystopia elements might hook me, but it just wasn't enough.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the arc.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
This was a very melancholic, reflective book. Half of this story is set in a near future where the main character Adéla died of a terminal illness only a day after reconnecting with the daughter she gave up for adoption at birth, but whose consciousness has linger and is following her daughter's journey to find her mother's body and bring it home for burial. The other half occurs when Adéla retreats from the present into vivid memories of her past as an illegal immigrant in the US, trying to make it as a filmmaker. While the story of Adéla and her children provides the main plot of the story and many interesting relationships between characters, the reflections into the past give more depth and realness to the character of Adéla.
I found the characters' flaws and complicated relationships to each other as well as the reflections on a world changing for the worse to be the most engaging part of the story. The scifi elements didn't always feel believable or well explained, but they helped push along the themes surrounding personhood and what makes a life worth living.
I found the characters' flaws and complicated relationships to each other as well as the reflections on a world changing for the worse to be the most engaging part of the story. The scifi elements didn't always feel believable or well explained, but they helped push along the themes surrounding personhood and what makes a life worth living.
Parts of this book were 2 stars, parts 4 stars.
I was drawn to the dystopian elements in this book on how they would reach immortality.
The book's narrator Adéla jumps from her teen years to the early years of becoming a mother, to the "now" in the near future. She has died, but her consciousness is still there and follows her daughter and her family.
Within the flashbacks, there is a whole other story which she and her partner turn into a film, they hope will become a cult classic. The flashbacks were too drawn out for me.
The "now" parts were way more interesting to me, and lacked the depth the flashback scenes had.
Overall the vibe I got from this book was very melancholy, so if you are in the mood for that this book is for you.
There were very interesting political observations in this book.
Overall it was a bit of a confusing read.
I was drawn to the dystopian elements in this book on how they would reach immortality.
The book's narrator Adéla jumps from her teen years to the early years of becoming a mother, to the "now" in the near future. She has died, but her consciousness is still there and follows her daughter and her family.
Within the flashbacks, there is a whole other story which she and her partner turn into a film, they hope will become a cult classic. The flashbacks were too drawn out for me.
The "now" parts were way more interesting to me, and lacked the depth the flashback scenes had.
Overall the vibe I got from this book was very melancholy, so if you are in the mood for that this book is for you.
There were very interesting political observations in this book.
Overall it was a bit of a confusing read.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read an early manuscript I obtained as a sales representative for Little, Brown and Company.