Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Die Brandstifter by R.O. Kwon

2 reviews

kry_yang's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Honestly a forgettable read for me. I almost DNF-ed in the middle, because there wasn't really any deep substance (plot, character, theme, or style-wise) that was compelling enough for me to pick it up. But the book is a super fast read, so I figured I should still finish it just to say that I read this book.

I think The Incendiaries attempts to tackle concepts like religious fanaticism, faith, love, and grief. I couldn't really connect with any the characters though. RO Kwon really takes her time developing a dream-like, surreal vibe to the entire story, but her style just left me feeling confused and frustrated. While reading, I kept getting the characters' perspectives mixed up. The ending was my favorite part of the book, but I think that's only because something concrete and action-worthy actually happens in the last 50 pages. I feel like this is the type of book where, despite reading the entire story, I still need to refer to the back of the cover when describing it to someone else.

I think R.O. Kwon is a really talented writer (and an overall super-cool person). But nothing is this book *really* worked for me. There was beautiful language, some poignant descriptions of characters' meditations on faith, and I did get some dark-academia vibes with the Noxhurst college setting. Unfortunately, that's pretty much everything I enjoyed about this book.

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mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A very interesting fictional novel that tugs at the conversation of religion versus cult, and has a great mix of mystery/thriller elements to it.

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