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lindsaylhunter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Death
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Rape
maddie_can_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I really enjoy the structure of the book, where you follow characters over time and space.
Loved all the Canadian and especially the Toronto references!
I have a difficult time visualizing some books but thought this book was written in a way that really facilitated visualizing what was happening, being familiar with Toronto also probably helped though.
I also enjoyed the tone of the book, it felt neither overly optimistic or pessimistic in imagining a post-apocalyptic world.
One minor critique is that some of the side characters were difficult to distinguish between.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
Minor: Rape and Blood
sandysmith's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, Rape, Suicide, and Kidnapping
kittythewildcat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Emotional abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Death
mega_mikko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Suicide and Rape
iszys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape
infinitedani24's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death
Minor: Rape, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
jlblumenfeld's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Terminal illness and Violence
Minor: Rape
pacifickat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A lot of disappointed reviewers seemed to want this book to be more than it was, the plot to follow a traditional post-apocalyptic road narrative, with characters fighting for survival in a dystopian landscape punctuated by violent encounters. However, Mandel seems to resist these expected devices, focusing instead on how humans are connected across time and space, nature and technology, and generations. The pandemic in this story demarcates a divide between past and present, a clear before and after. But, is existence more than our perceived notion of time and oir relationship to pivotal moments in history? Does a web of interconnectivity carry through all existence even when we cannot perceive it, even when the world seemingly ends? What is this reality we’re living in? Is it patterned beforehand, or only when looked at it in retrospect, like a forest ecosystem growing organically together? Can meaning and beauty miraculously arise out of mundanity and messiness? Is being briefly and beautifully alive and part of a cosmic whole enough of a miracle in itself? Do we make stories, or do the stories make us? What exists because of us, and what exists outside of us?
It’s complicated.
This seeming magic encircles and envelops conscious existence, but goes unnoticed by the humans navigating the complexities of the pre-pandemic modern world, or fighting to survive in post-pandemic reality. A repeated element of looking upward to the sky when faced with death carries throughout, perhaps searching for sufficient meaning or beauty when survival is not guaranteed and everything finally falls still. Is this akin to the sublime moment the actress dissolves into Titania on stage, her stained wedding gown becoming the adornment of a magical fairy queen?
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Suicide
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Child death, and Pedophilia
Minor: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
potassiumk's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Death, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide and Alcohol
Minor: Rape