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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4 stars! ⭐️
i know that there is always something going on in the world, but reading this during the current political climate felt WAY too relatable. i’ve seen a fair share of people saying how annoyed they are that the book constantly talks about how white people are bad and all i can say is .. what color is your skin for you to be getting annoyed over that?
i know that there is always something going on in the world, but reading this during the current political climate felt WAY too relatable. i’ve seen a fair share of people saying how annoyed they are that the book constantly talks about how white people are bad and all i can say is .. what color is your skin for you to be getting annoyed over that?
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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:
Complicated
masterpiece but I'm writing this with tears streaming down my face still so REBECCA WHEN I CATCH YOU
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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:
Yes
As someone who took a class on the history of languages in college I ate this up and now I’m sad
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-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
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book started off well, introducing us to an interesting world with interesting magic and the Translation Institute that I wanted to learn more about. The characters seemed interesting at the start as well, although Robin the MC always felt a bit like a wet blanket, but I liked Ramy and Victoire. I really enjoyed the academic ponderings on language in the first half, even though I'm not always a fan of long-winded writing, the topic was so interesting I didn't mind it so much.
But I noticed I started struggling to stay interested in the book as it went on. I think it was too long. There was way too much telling instead of showing, with large chunks of time just skimmed through so the book could focus and dwell on bits I thought weren't that interesting, mostly Robin wallowing in self-pity or guilt or some other negative emotion that grew tiring quickly. The characters that seemed interesting at first lost their lustre with the telling not showing writing putting so much distance between me as the reader and them that it became difficult to care for them. I don't think I've ever read a book where I start of caring for the characters but end up not caring about what happens to them by the end, or at least that doesn't happen very often, so I guess that's an achievement of its own.
The book also felt very repetitive which in such a long book feels like a major flaw. There was a point where it felt like a bunch of different characters kept having the same conversations about how colonialism is bad over and over. Like someone else said, the characters felt more like mouthpieces for Kuang to get her messages out rather than people with their own personalities, so similar were the ways they all articulated themselves. I feel like the plot and interactions between characters could have made the same points in a more impactful way with better writing, which would have made this a lot less boring of a read.
Still 3 stars since I liked the first half or so, especially the linguistics stuff that was super interesting.
But I noticed I started struggling to stay interested in the book as it went on. I think it was too long. There was way too much telling instead of showing, with large chunks of time just skimmed through so the book could focus and dwell on bits I thought weren't that interesting, mostly Robin wallowing in self-pity or guilt or some other negative emotion that grew tiring quickly. The characters that seemed interesting at first lost their lustre with the telling not showing writing putting so much distance between me as the reader and them that it became difficult to care for them. I don't think I've ever read a book where I start of caring for the characters but end up not caring about what happens to them by the end, or at least that doesn't happen very often, so I guess that's an achievement of its own.
The book also felt very repetitive which in such a long book feels like a major flaw. There was a point where it felt like a bunch of different characters kept having the same conversations about how colonialism is bad over and over. Like someone else said, the characters felt more like mouthpieces for Kuang to get her messages out rather than people with their own personalities, so similar were the ways they all articulated themselves. I feel like the plot and interactions between characters could have made the same points in a more impactful way with better writing, which would have made this a lot less boring of a read.
Still 3 stars since I liked the first half or so, especially the linguistics stuff that was super interesting.
dark
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-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:
Yes