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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, War
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A great read but towards the end it became clear that who I thought was a strong female protagonist was actually basically nothing more than a lens with which to view the two focal brothers of the story, which was disappointing.
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
this is really hard to rate.
the first half is an absolute snooze. every line feels cliche, dialogue feels stilted, anil is poorly rendered and without much inner life.
at around the 70% mark, ondaatje finally slips into the kind of rhythm he does best. It's what i loved about coming through slaughter: the quickness of thought, collapsing of scenes into traces, parataxis that doesn't feel clinical but actually reflects how human consciousness experiences history in the present. though the final scene was unsatisfying, the prose and emotional depth of the last 30% of the book was just so striking and exactly what i love about ondaatje's work usually.
would i recommend this? i don't know. i don't find that it does a particularly good job rendering sri lanka as a place, moreso solely as a zone of conflict. i don't find anil interesting in herself, though there are some moments that stick with me. the book's structure, with these odd named sections, didn't make much sense. STILL i'm always moved by this very ondaatje rhythm of writing, and for that, i can't rate this book lower than i have.
the first half is an absolute snooze. every line feels cliche, dialogue feels stilted, anil is poorly rendered and without much inner life.
at around the 70% mark, ondaatje finally slips into the kind of rhythm he does best. It's what i loved about coming through slaughter: the quickness of thought, collapsing of scenes into traces, parataxis that doesn't feel clinical but actually reflects how human consciousness experiences history in the present. though the final scene was unsatisfying, the prose and emotional depth of the last 30% of the book was just so striking and exactly what i love about ondaatje's work usually.
would i recommend this? i don't know. i don't find that it does a particularly good job rendering sri lanka as a place, moreso solely as a zone of conflict. i don't find anil interesting in herself, though there are some moments that stick with me. the book's structure, with these odd named sections, didn't make much sense. STILL i'm always moved by this very ondaatje rhythm of writing, and for that, i can't rate this book lower than i have.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Sometimes so good and well developed, other times, jumpy and unrelated. Probably also would have been more enjoyable if I didn't have to read it on a tight schedule.
The book had me hooked at first, but it completely lost me halfway through. I really enjoy fragmented writing, which I see a lot of people complaining about in their reviews. For me, the problem is that the author is not able to write compelling female characters. I'm actually really surprised that it hasn't been mentioned by many reviews. The novel relentlessly sexualizes the main character, which is fine on it's own if she's just a sexual person. However, he writes about her so awkwardly It's gratuitous writing that uses female characters to progress the story of the male characters. The only parts I really enjoyed of this novel were based around the exploration of Sri Lanka's history and the small story of Linus Corea.