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sarabasti's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
3.5
i truly don’t know how to feel about this book. but i’m sure a reread in like 3 years will hit hard
aelishhh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cpoole's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lambofgod420's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
minnaobrien's review against another edition
3.0
This is the most conflicting book I've read in a long time.
Based on the synopsis and blurbs on the back of the book, I was expecting a ghost story about race, class, and cultural appropriation. And it was. ... But it also spent a lot of time, especially in the first quarter, on the dysfunctional relationship between Seth (the POV character) and his best friend. It wasn't that it was poorly written, just 1) I find that dynamic of the incredibly rich friend who provides a fantastic life but is also toxic and controlling to be over-represented in fiction and 2) it was not the story I had picked up the book for.
The book definitely gets better as it goes on. The biggest detractor to my reading experience was that I never got invested in Seth, so I didn't really enjoy his parts of the timeline - which make up the largest fraction of the story. But as other characters are introduced and the ghost story starts overtaking the realism, I enjoyed it more and more. The last 75 pages were the upsetting ghost story about black American disenfranchisement I had been looking for, and I loved it.
I can't overall call this a great book, but because the best parts are at the end, it left me with a good final impression.
Based on the synopsis and blurbs on the back of the book, I was expecting a ghost story about race, class, and cultural appropriation. And it was. ... But it also spent a lot of time, especially in the first quarter, on the dysfunctional relationship between Seth (the POV character) and his best friend. It wasn't that it was poorly written, just 1) I find that dynamic of the incredibly rich friend who provides a fantastic life but is also toxic and controlling to be over-represented in fiction and 2) it was not the story I had picked up the book for.
The book definitely gets better as it goes on. The biggest detractor to my reading experience was that I never got invested in Seth, so I didn't really enjoy his parts of the timeline - which make up the largest fraction of the story. But as other characters are introduced and the ghost story starts overtaking the realism, I enjoyed it more and more. The last 75 pages were the upsetting ghost story about black American disenfranchisement I had been looking for, and I loved it.
I can't overall call this a great book, but because the best parts are at the end, it left me with a good final impression.
alvamalmstrom's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
canaanmerchant's review against another edition
4.0
This is almost two different books. That makes sense for a book filled with characters obsessed with old records that require a flip to hear a new song.
The A-Side is a story of two outcasts who bond over music. Even if you don't like the blues any music obsessive can see themselves in these pages especially with many poignant passages about the power of a recording.
But the B-Side is where things start to warp and get distorted, as if Kunzru intentionally scratched his own record. The narrative starts to split and the reader has trouble keeping track of timelines because the characters themselves start to have the same problems. That leads to a disturbing story about what our responsibility is to people who create but may never get credit.
The A-Side is a story of two outcasts who bond over music. Even if you don't like the blues any music obsessive can see themselves in these pages especially with many poignant passages about the power of a recording.
But the B-Side is where things start to warp and get distorted, as if Kunzru intentionally scratched his own record. The narrative starts to split and the reader has trouble keeping track of timelines because the characters themselves start to have the same problems. That leads to a disturbing story about what our responsibility is to people who create but may never get credit.
suvata's review against another edition
5.0
Very Kafkaesque or maybe Murakamiesque! I absolutely loved this book.
From the Publisher:
Seth is awkward and shy. Carter is the glamorous heir to one of America's great fortunes. They have one thing in common: an obsession with music. Seth is desperate to reach for the future. Carter is slipping back into the past. When Seth accidentally records an unknown singer in a park, Carter sends it out over the Internet, claiming it's a long lost 1920s blues recording by a musician called Charlie Shaw. When an old collector contacts them to say that their fake record and their fake bluesman are actually real, the two young white men, accompanied by Carter's troubled sister Leonie, spiral down into the heart of the nation's darkness, encountering a suppressed history of greed, envy, revenge, and exploitation.
From SuperSummary.com:
White Tears is a 2017 contemporary novel by British author and journalist Hari Kunzru. Set in New York in the present day, it follows two musically inclined hipsters who run into misfortune after developing a song that is mistaken for a lost work by an obscure blues-era musical genius Charlie Shaw. When people begin to stalk and antagonize the two friends, they are involved in an eerie mystery related to Shaw’s murder.
From the Publisher:
Seth is awkward and shy. Carter is the glamorous heir to one of America's great fortunes. They have one thing in common: an obsession with music. Seth is desperate to reach for the future. Carter is slipping back into the past. When Seth accidentally records an unknown singer in a park, Carter sends it out over the Internet, claiming it's a long lost 1920s blues recording by a musician called Charlie Shaw. When an old collector contacts them to say that their fake record and their fake bluesman are actually real, the two young white men, accompanied by Carter's troubled sister Leonie, spiral down into the heart of the nation's darkness, encountering a suppressed history of greed, envy, revenge, and exploitation.
From SuperSummary.com:
White Tears is a 2017 contemporary novel by British author and journalist Hari Kunzru. Set in New York in the present day, it follows two musically inclined hipsters who run into misfortune after developing a song that is mistaken for a lost work by an obscure blues-era musical genius Charlie Shaw. When people begin to stalk and antagonize the two friends, they are involved in an eerie mystery related to Shaw’s murder.
soph_e_c's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.75