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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this immediately after reading Brooklyn, and I liked it, but not nearly as much as I liked Brooklyn. It had the same terrific, immersive writing, and the same kinds of interesting, complicated characters, but I found their choices frustrating, and I didn't like that the basically the whole book was focused on different aspects of infidelity . I also found several of the characters much less likeable than they were in Brooklyn. (Tony and Eilis' mother, mainly, but also Eilis herself to a lesser extent.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Hmm. I read this book quickly, I would say I enjoyed it but it felt like an afterthought and I didn’t find it particularly credible . Wasn’t worried about the cliff hanger ending as I won’t be reading a second sequel
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
slow-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
Came quite close to DNFing and only finished this to finish it. 90% of the plot is revealed in the first chapter, and the other 10% is a will-they won't-they plot around Jim and Eilis rekindling their old flame for each other and being unfaithful in their respective relationships. I ended up feeling tired by pretty much every character in this book and the fact that they weren't getting up to much. The book was very character-focused but I struggled to get into the characters' heads. Brooklyn was also just OK for me, so I think I may just not be the type of reader that Colm Toíbín writes for.
Unlike Brooklyn, we're in the minds of three core characters (instead of just Eilis), so there's even more contemplation and perhaps less plot. One's satisfaction with this is largely going to depend on one's okayness with ambiguity. Also, not sure why Eilis's mom got so awful...but woof.
emotional
reflective
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:
Yes