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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a great book. I felt so connected to the characters and their different struggles within their own contexts. The silver working was fascinating and kept me guessing as to what each match pair would do as it was described. The ending was tragic and terrible, in the way that made me feel sad and hopeful. This is an excellent commentary on colonialism, culture, and the importance of resistance and hope.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I absolutely adore Kuang’s writing style, informative narration and underlying messages seamlessly interwoven with this story. While she’s a bit of a chunky read, the way that she incorporates the epistemology of language into the book will always have my heart.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
I don’t think I have much to say besides: read this book
Everything is just so good. The plot, the premise, the context; but most of all, the characters. Letty and Ramy had to be my favorites, written so well, they invoked every single emotion they were supposed to and more.
The return to canton part felt a little rushed, so did the boat ride to and from. The build up to the climax could’ve been the slightest bit more gradual, but I have quite literally no other notes.
I genuinely believe that the only reason this is not a 4.5+ avg rated book is because it does not mince its politics, especially regarding colonialism, misogyny and white supremacy.
Everything is just so good. The plot, the premise, the context; but most of all, the characters. Letty and Ramy had to be my favorites, written so well, they invoked every single emotion they were supposed to and more.
The return to canton part felt a little rushed, so did the boat ride to and from. The build up to the climax could’ve been the slightest bit more gradual, but I have quite literally no other notes.
I genuinely believe that the only reason this is not a 4.5+ avg rated book is because it does not mince its politics, especially regarding colonialism, misogyny and white supremacy.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
This was a great book. As a lover of languages I loved all the etymology, the academic stuff around language, words, meaning etc. I ate it up and a magic system based on this was right up my alley. I love the fact that the knowledge of language is power. That is not very common in literature or history. Very often powerful subjects are maths, chemistry, physics and more in that chategory. As a language geek and a maths dummy, I of course love this powershift. Outside of this, the story, plot and characters were all great. And of course the whole message about imperialism, colonialism and racism and how it has impacted the world, and still is, is more important now than ever. Learning from the past is crucial. So, yes, a great book.
The reason for the retracted 0,5 stars is that I wish the author did a little less tell and a little more show and had more trust in her readers. We get it, we do not always need it so thouroghly explaned.
I would also have liked a little more fleshed out characters. I loved some and hated some, but didn't really know them as well as i would have liked. But I still cried so they got under my skin anyway. All in all, a must read
The reason for the retracted 0,5 stars is that I wish the author did a little less tell and a little more show and had more trust in her readers. We get it, we do not always need it so thouroghly explaned.
I would also have liked a little more fleshed out characters. I loved some and hated some, but didn't really know them as well as i would have liked. But I still cried so they got under my skin anyway. All in all, a must read
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
4.5 stars, half a star knocked off because the academia-ness of it all was a bit dense at times. I knew how this book ended and yet it still managed to make me cry.