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the_literarylinguist's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Confinement, and Infidelity
Minor: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mass/school shootings
astridrv's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
An in-depth exploration of one family's story of loss, grief and growth in relation to the war in Algeria. I was really excited about reading this book. It reads easily, it is very informative, and struck a chord at some pages. I am glad to have spent time with these characters, but in the end, I was not overly impressed with the writing or the structure. I would have made different choices in terms of narration - although I get that the occasional presence of a first person narrator may be useful to avoid the obvious parallel between the author and one character, I feel like it would have been more organic to just let it be and the additional voice felt like an interference. The way different time frames were woven into each other also did not feel very strong to me. As for the writing, it is accessible (which is good!) but a bit too simple and direct for me (nothing hidden, no surprises, all the character's layers were right on the surface). I am still grateful for what I learned.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Panic attacks/disorders
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