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loiscarlisle's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- 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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Murder, Child death, Sexual violence, Incest, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, and Adult/minor relationship
brynpemery's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Racism, Animal death, Death, Deportation, and Incest
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Pregnancy
mmccombs's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
An interesting story and beautiful writing, but it didn’t really do much for me. I think part of the issue is that I just finished last year’s Booker prize island book, The Colony, right before this one, and the former is simply so much stronger. I found myself (perhaps unfairly) comparing the two, and I didn’t think This Other Eden had anything new to say, lacking the finesse and layered nuance I loved in The Colony. Maybe this book could have been structured differently? I enjoyed the paragraphs where we’d explore “an artifact” or piece of art with 50-100 years distance from the action of the novels, I feel like the author could have used that more. I leave this feeling underwhelmed, I understand why this made it onto the Booker longlist but don’t think it has that “edge” or groundbreaking vision that most nominated books have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Incest, and Racism
Minor: Animal death
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