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ayesharahman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Trafficking, and Terminal illness
nepheloma's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is a very interesting book that I personally interpreted as an allegory for the course of life. The main question it focuses on is: why do we do anything if there's no hope, or at least nothing more than this life, in the end? It's basically a reflection on the absurdity that characterizes our existence through the experiences of three very, very human characters. They are all very flawed, sometimes even to an aggravating extent, but I found it kind of comforting how openly their flaws were explored and how they kept being connected, not despite these flaws, but even alongside them. What I personally realized through this book was that we keep on living life because that's the core of our humanity: to create and to exist, no matter how absurd our existence might really be. We're not different from the students at all -our existence is a path straight towards death, just like theirs. But we keep carrying on, because what matters is that we live until we die.
I think that the only thing that I didn't enjoy very much was the writing style of this book. I do understand that it is designed to reflect that the story is told orally, but I found it repetitive. Sometimes, there was foreshadowing that was too obvious or even repeatedly mentioned, which made me feel that the set ups the writer wanted to create were a little not too strongly built. At times, I also found the narration somewhat emotionless, especially in the beginning of the book, but even though this bogged me, I have to admit that it did contribute to the general morose, yet hopeful, atmosphere that the book had.
I think that the only thing that I didn't enjoy very much was the writing style of this book. I do understand that it is designed to reflect that the story is told orally, but I found it repetitive. Sometimes, there was foreshadowing that was too obvious or even repeatedly mentioned, which made me feel that the set ups the writer wanted to create were a little not too strongly built. At times, I also found the narration somewhat emotionless, especially in the beginning of the book, but even though this bogged me, I have to admit that it did contribute to the general morose, yet hopeful, atmosphere that the book had.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
v171's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I shouldn't be surprised that this book absolutely blew me away. Ishiguro's "The Buried Giant" was my favorite read of last year. But despite this being completely different in tone, it was just as powerful and thought provoking. I couldn't help but feel like the plot was a solid contemporary fiction story in a horrific sci fi, almost dystopian setting. I've never felt such rising despondence in my heart as pieces of these students' lives are revealed bit by bit. But while, in many ways, it was heartbreaking, the story is one of friendship, forgiveness, and love. This is truly masterful storytelling from beginning to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, and Medical content
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