Reviews

The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

ummm_megan's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

tatt_mucker's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

debbiecollectsbooks's review against another edition

3.0

Very fast read, great story, felt odd at the ending because I felt left hanging. Nothing felt accomplished at the end of the story. I wanted a better happy ending.

cbirchy's review against another edition

5.0

Spare, poetic, beautiful. And a page turner.

netti99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

elizabethstone's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

lauralauralaura's review against another edition

3.0

The development and motivation of these characters seems not fully realized, and this book is dark AF. I can see some of the things that draw me to this author's work nascent in this one, especially the way we become unintentionally interconnected with others, even when it's not easy or even healthy. 

analenegrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was such an engaging book I struggled to put it down every time I had to! 

If I had one phrase for this book, it would be "manic pixie dream girl." In this book, Anna was every other character's MPDG, and her own intentions and dreams were entirely forgotten for theirs. Every man was in love with her but none of them even knew her for real. Even her sister treated her like an MPDG in her own way. 

Anna's own intentions were probably the most interesting part of this as I kept waiting and waiting for them and then would get little snippets of her POV. While this story was mostly told through the eyes of men, Mandel makes it so clear what they're missing and their mistakes/impact. 

Mandel does an amazing job of switching POVs and telling a story out of time. Her writing is so compelling I would probably read her writing about trees...

katreenagd's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

verytoristory's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0