Reviews

The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

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

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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

karamears's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

3.25

amyreh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Gun violence and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse

blucactus's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.75

tedhekman's review against another edition

5.0

Fuck me, I love reading this author's books so much! The ending... kinda sucked. But that didn't stop me from thoroughly absorbing myself into every page. The suspense is real. You can almost feel the damp southern heat as you read. It's pretty fucking dark. If you're looking for a relaxing, cozy read full of puppy dogs and ice cream, look elsewhere. But the pacing is fierce, and the prose is magical. I have been reading this author in backwards order chronologically, and it appears she has been a master of words long before she got uber famous.

laila4343's review against another edition

4.0

Emily St. John Mandel is the queen of the multi-layered plot; her novels are like puzzles you have to keep turning pages to solve. This one was a bit of a slow start but after about 60 pages or so I couldn't put it down. Utterly compelling and propulsive. I especially loved the character of Sasha, Anna's half-sister, and her struggles with gambling and wanting a new life. All of these characters were kind of sad and in search of something, but not in a depressing way.

I've now read all of her books aside from the one that comes out next month (April 2022.) Here's how I rank them from fave to least fave - but they're all worth reading:

1. Station Eleven
2. The Glass Hotel
3. The Singer's Gun
4. The Lola Quartet
5. Last Night in Montreal

savorsophia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

4.5

mackellis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

A book that could have been a paragraph if people would just be honest and talk to each other. Alas, that’s not the human condition. 

mickmoonmohan's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25