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cassie7e's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Chilly and a fragile stillness like Fargo, but with more emotional development and attachment to characters. Every chapter is a different character's POV, exploring the lives of so many people tangentially related to the backdrop of the missing girls. Some are just related by existing in the same town. This makes the world feel peopled and deeply real, not just about who matters to specific storyline but acknowledging all the storylines that exist concurrently and tangle up and affect each other. This book also closely intertwines peninsular culture and politics and sense of place, which I appreciated as someone who has not read much Russian literature (either author or setting).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Kidnapping, Infidelity, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Homophobia
scifi_rat's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child abuse, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Ableism, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Death, and Infidelity
iellv's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
4.8
Gripping from start to finish if you love knowing other people’s business. No, but seriously this is absolutely worth the read. But note that not all the stories converge directly—there is no grand ending, but the payoff was still utterly devastating. At the beginning, the book feels like watching the ground shift beneath your feet like oil on still water. And as you go through the rest of the book it feels like drowning, and then you’re overcome completely by a brief crash. And then, silence. Helpppppp im never reading this again probably. I’m currently recovering from a stomach flu as I write this and I gotta tell you the last chapters rlly aggravated my tummy lmao.
Gripping from start to finish if you love knowing other people’s business. No, but seriously this is absolutely worth the read. But note that not all the stories converge directly—there is no grand ending, but the payoff was still utterly devastating. At the beginning, the book feels like watching the ground shift beneath your feet like oil on still water. And as you go through the rest of the book it feels like drowning, and then you’re overcome completely by a brief crash. And then, silence. Helpppppp im never reading this again probably. I’m currently recovering from a stomach flu as I write this and I gotta tell you the last chapters rlly aggravated my tummy lmao.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Homophobia
knkoch's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a true mix between slow burning literary fiction and a faster-paced mystery or thriller. Really unusual and intriguing to me, as it’s not quite like others of its kind.
Overall, I quite liked this. I knew nothing about Kamchatka before reading, and any fiction that draws attention to an overlooked or undiscussed part of the world is rewarding to me. It was a great sense of place novel, examining many different lives in a post-Soviet world, from white Russians to several Native communities, all living together on this isolated peninsula.
This is structured as a series of interconnected vignettes, each from a different character’s perspective, over the period of one year. Sometimes it was hard to see how chapters connected, so fans of typical thrillers would struggle. I know it’s time to buckle in whenever a book starts with a list of characters (I would have been lost if I’d listened to the audiobook). And it was often bleak! But ultimately, a very valuable and cathartic look at a place and people I’ve not encountered.
Overall, I quite liked this. I knew nothing about Kamchatka before reading, and any fiction that draws attention to an overlooked or undiscussed part of the world is rewarding to me. It was a great sense of place novel, examining many different lives in a post-Soviet world, from white Russians to several Native communities, all living together on this isolated peninsula.
This is structured as a series of interconnected vignettes, each from a different character’s perspective, over the period of one year. Sometimes it was hard to see how chapters connected, so fans of typical thrillers would struggle. I know it’s time to buckle in whenever a book starts with a list of characters (I would have been lost if I’d listened to the audiobook). And it was often bleak! But ultimately, a very valuable and cathartic look at a place and people I’ve not encountered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Minor: Homophobia
I probably can’t give a full list of all the content warnings I’d wish to, so I’ll just say this was at times a bleak book, dealing with some heavy subjects. Some unhealthy relationships, misogyny, racism towards Native communities, and family struggles are depicted, though not glibly, it seemed to me. I’m sure other reviewers noted CWs in more detail.talasterism's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the beauty of the writing captivated me alright. it's visual - blue bleeding up to heaven; the bay snuck up to swallow her toes; the blue-lit black of nights, the afternoon was crisp on her skin; time at the edge of the sea; - and evoking just enough pleased sighs to keep going.
but overall, the book for me always, from the first chapter, was borderline uncomofrtable, walking the thin like of i dont wanna put this away and the implied / off-screen uncertainties make something unpleasant under my skin crawl. some chapters i hated, the one from the teacher's slice of life, nothing but itching discomfort. some i loved - the one with olya was my favourite, the realness of bitter happiness and the beauty of relishing in aloneness. (even if it all happened, olya wouldnt tell them how the colours changed here. she would share nothing. they would never find out they missed the most beautiful day of autumn, where olya, alone, had been in its very centre. how good olya would feel to keep this secret. how safe it was inside ehrself) with so many characters, i have expected a more satisfying tie-in with each other at the end of the story, and to a degree it did happen, but by far not as thrilling as desired. also a fun aspect were the chapters through the months. also the endingis surprisngly optimistic. i really did not excpect to have a resolution, OR a happy ending, but it was a pleasant surprise.
that quick breath, promising to adore her / her body was cold with late-arrived fear; his mouth was hot / the desire that contninued to knot them together / the cold garbber her lungs in two fists / an ache that was native / sweet grit in her throat / in one minute she was lvoely, and in the next she was a ghost / she was a beast. this was her hallow; inisde her was white and smooth, a frozen landscape, solid bone; carrying their hearts in each other's chests; a little love, a little rage, a lot of ocean water / two or three hours, and after, an eternity- are some of the lines that could be straight up of a poem. and at good times, it what it felt like. a beautifully visual poem, a tragedy of fear, an ode to dwinlding hope.
but overall, the book for me always, from the first chapter, was borderline uncomofrtable, walking the thin like of i dont wanna put this away and the implied / off-screen uncertainties make something unpleasant under my skin crawl. some chapters i hated, the one from the teacher's slice of life, nothing but itching discomfort. some i loved - the one with olya was my favourite, the realness of bitter happiness and the beauty of relishing in aloneness. (even if it all happened, olya wouldnt tell them how the colours changed here. she would share nothing. they would never find out they missed the most beautiful day of autumn, where olya, alone, had been in its very centre. how good olya would feel to keep this secret. how safe it was inside ehrself) with so many characters, i have expected a more satisfying tie-in with each other at the end of the story, and to a degree it did happen, but by far not as thrilling as desired. also a fun aspect were the chapters through the months. also the ending
that quick breath, promising to adore her / her body was cold with late-arrived fear; his mouth was hot / the desire that contninued to knot them together / the cold garbber her lungs in two fists / an ache that was native / sweet grit in her throat / in one minute she was lvoely, and in the next she was a ghost / she was a beast. this was her hallow; inisde her was white and smooth, a frozen landscape, solid bone; carrying their hearts in each other's chests; a little love, a little rage, a lot of ocean water / two or three hours, and after, an eternity- are some of the lines that could be straight up of a poem. and at good times, it what it felt like. a beautifully visual poem, a tragedy of fear, an ode to dwinlding hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, and Racism
Moderate: Confinement, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Cancer, and Child abuse
Minor: Animal death, Pedophilia, and Torture
nikexistiertnik's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
i am not okay after finishing this book, reading it affected my whole body and i am incredibly stressed and tense.
that being said, i really enjoyed the way it was written (and the german translation) and having so many different perspectives and characters is a concept i definitely dig.
the ending felt a little weird though because it seemed like the author just wanted to quickly solve the case in the end to satisfy the reader. don't get me wrong, i was emotionally invested through the whole story and i really loved the writing style in the last chapter (it hurt), but i think having jegor be the kidnapper was kind of an easy way out, although i am happy that the families finally have answers.
i loved learning more about the peninsula, its indigenous people, the culture and politics, which doesn't mean i liked everything i learned, obviously.
although i'm a little sad that we didn't get a lot of time with some of the characters, it was really interesting to read about so many different realities and how these people were (more or less) connected.
thousands of different triggers though, it was really hard to read sometimes.
that being said, i really enjoyed the way it was written (and the german translation) and having so many different perspectives and characters is a concept i definitely dig.
the ending felt a little weird though
i loved learning more about the peninsula, its indigenous people, the culture and politics, which doesn't mean i liked everything i learned, obviously.
although i'm a little sad that we didn't get a lot of time with some of the characters, it was really interesting to read about so many different realities and how these people were (more or less) connected.
thousands of different triggers though, it was really hard to read sometimes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Death, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Homophobia, Ableism, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Minor: Infertility and Cancer
adelal's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer and Pedophilia
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