Reviews

Euphoria by Lily King

gschmidtquee's review

adventurous challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was such a different and inspiring read! I loved the speed of the plot, and the interrogation into old anthropology felt nicely modern. It was engaging character wise but also had a more driven plot point. It was so different from Writers and Lovers which I loved, but I liked how diverse her writing style is and how many different ways Lily King takes her books!

dlpeterson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative 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

4.0

laurenkh's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

rossgr's review

5.0

Beautiful, lovely, satisfying and oh so frustrating and tragic. I fell in love with all three of our main characters, as well as the places they visited. King does her characters such a favor by giving them so many layers that their motivation in each seem becomes so clear, it feels like I've known them a long time. Wish I could read for the first time again, I absolutely loved this book <3

eap157's review against another edition

adventurous reflective sad

5.0

Wow. Way out of my normal reading subject matter but was fascinating and I’m still thinking about that ending. A really thought-provoking read.

sltaylor93's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

beverllj's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

maddie_reads_stuff's review

4.0

“It’s that moment about two months in, when you think you’ve finally got a handle on the place. Suddenly it feels within your grasp. It’s a delusion—you’ve only been there eight weeks—and it’s followed by the complete despair of ever understanding anything. But at that moment the place feels entirely yours. It’s the briefest, purest euphoria.”

Three anthropologists share a meeting of the minds and hearts at their isolated jungle posts in New Guinea in 1931.

What an era! And what a place to be! Throw into this historical landscape some romance and tribal mysticism, what’s not to like? (To answer my own rhetorical question: Fen, because he’s a

Spoiler

lying, possessive, abusive, possibly wife-murdering

dick.)

Also, I love that quote. Though maybe life in a foreign culture is more like a cycle between the euphoria and despair. :)

emilymacgregor99's review

3.0

Was so scared to read this because I loved Writers & Lovers so much, and anyone writing a book about 1930s social anthropologists makes me nervy that it’ll be implicitly eugenicist and excuse the horrendous racial politics the “knowledge” was used to underpin and justify. King did attempt to address these tensions through the differing opinions of her three main characters and contrasting them against the society of the time, but still, not a massively captivating read. Her style has definitely strengthened as her career’s progressed! 

olrite's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0