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annac11's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
voikukka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Beautiful, hard to put down and gently haunting. Great build up but towards the end it felt a bit rushed and anticlimatic. Unfortunately has a colonial vibe when it comes to the world after the settler apocalypse - dissapointing as the genre has literally no limits, but not surprising.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Death
Minor: Rape
krispyyk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Lots of stuff going on under the same theme - what makes life meaningful
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Death, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault
daniellekat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
I'm kind of shocked by how much I enjoyed this. I would have never picked this up if it wasn't on the 2023 Canada Reads shortlist. I had no idea what to expect, and knowing that the tagged genres were not my thing, I expected to hate this. BUT WOW. I can't exactly pinpoint what I loved, but this was so good. The writing was excellent, thought-provoking and poetic without being pretentious. I am a sucker for anyone who writes about Toronto well, and Mandel did not disappoint. I liked the weaving timelines and how all the main characters fit together, but I thought there were too many auxiliary characters to keep track of. I also wasn't a fan of the book's organization, the various section titles were unnecessary. I think there is definitely a different experience reading this in the post-COVID19 era and I wonder if I would have enjoyed this as much, had I read it pre-2020.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Gun violence
Minor: Rape and Adult/minor relationship
fkshg8465's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is the third book by this author I have read, and I’ve loved all three of them. She tells stories that are truly unique. No template or formula but simply well woven stories of multiple (dis)connected lives. And just when I was thinking this would be a great script, I found out it was actually made into a TV series. I must add that to my watch list!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Suicide, Gun violence, Grief, Violence, Rape, and Infidelity
parfait52's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It took me several months to get through this book, which is saying something because it's fairly short. Every time I picked it up, I was interested enough. Once I put it down, though, I didn't feel the need to pick it back up. This book doesn't really have a plot so much as it has a story. And once you figure out how the story is forming and the author is doing, it's very easy to know where it's going to go. At times, I found the writing to be beautiful and profound. I found the concept fascinating, but the execution was stifling at points. There were several parts of the book that I personally found very boring and wanted to get past immediately. Overall, not a bad read. There are just books I've enjoyed more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Stalking, Gun violence, and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy, Child death, Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, and Sexual assault
nicholasmc's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
reggiethebird's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
I very much preferred this to Sea of Tranquility. Those first 30 or so pages are a tough read, and hit a little too close to home (the toilet paper line got me [ I'm very glad I read this after covid]), but the rest is nicer. Jumps around the timeline a ton, but once you know to expect it it works beautifully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, Violence, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Rape
kdomps's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
I didn't want to read another book about the pandemic but what makes this book truly impressive is that Mandel published it far sooner than the covid pandemic of 2020.
It was a bit triggering for me but I was able to get through it because of the human-ness of the characters. I found it to be very suspenseful and finished it quickly despite its length and my reluctance to revisit pandemic life. Very good job, would recommend to lovers of apocalyptic stories and sci-fi.
It was a bit triggering for me but I was able to get through it because of the human-ness of the characters. I found it to be very suspenseful and finished it quickly despite its length and my reluctance to revisit pandemic life. Very good job, would recommend to lovers of apocalyptic stories and sci-fi.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, and Rape
mishellsch's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
medium-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? No
4.5
I see how this novel and the miniseries about a deadly flu and the resulting dystopia flew under the radar while we were experiencing our own pandemic.
Now to finish the last few episodes of the miniseries. The miniseries adjusted some of the characters' storylines to help format the plot for the screen. So far, I don't mind the changes.
Now to finish the last few episodes of the miniseries. The miniseries adjusted some of the characters' storylines to help format the plot for the screen. So far, I don't mind the changes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape