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sarajg's review
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
1.5
mjminkowich's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
kelbi's review
3.0
I found it very bitty and difficult to follow characters properly. So it was OK andd in parts good. The premise, about what is likely to happen in London (and elsewhere) to people without proper credentials is alarming
anitaofplaybooktag's review
3.0
The novel takes the reader to post-Brexit London where a woman has killed herself by jumping off a bridge. No one has come forward to identify her. The book explores a whole host of people who are connected to the suicidal woman by the most tenuous of strings. A police officer who can't stop thinking about her case. A nurse who was on the bridge simultaneously, yet unaware of the tragedy taking place. A filmmaker who creates a documentary about the jumper. For each of these people, we meet the people in their lives - family or friends or neighbors. This structure (sort of a hub, spoke, wheel approach) makes for a LOT of characters and a lot of subplots. Many of the subplots touch upon the theme of immigration today and how immigrants are (or are not) absorbed into London.
I was alternatively impressed and frustrated by this book. Grant's writing style is right up my alley. Her descriptions are outstanding, freshly rendered, and compelling in their own right. In this case, the book is set in London, and the author makes London come alive for the reader. She almost makes it seem like a character itself. She describes it: "There's nothing one could do that would provoke its surprise. It absorbed atrocities, shrugged them off . . .nobody talked to each other or made eye contact on the tube; like an elephant bitten by a mosquito, London was simply too big, too absorbed in its own individual business, too intent on getting to work and going shopping and having dates and affairs and planning robberies." Her prose made me think.
And it was a good thing it did, because the plot - such as it was - really lacked suspense. It was very fragmented. I felt I kept forgetting who the characters were (omg, I wish I had read this on Kindle where revisiting character info is 10x easier) and had to remind myself repeatedly of who they were and who they were related to. One character had two names to add to the complications. In addition, there were some pretty surreal moments that require the reader to puzzle out what has actually happened and more importantly why. I questioned if certain scenes were meant to be metaphorical. At any rate, I don't mind doing some of the work as a reader, but I felt the balance was tipped away from my favor and not in a good way.
To Grant's credit, she saved the situation a bit in the end with a relative straightforward recitation of what happened to each character, and I did appreciate that . . .in fact, it almost pushed me to give the book another star.
I was alternatively impressed and frustrated by this book. Grant's writing style is right up my alley. Her descriptions are outstanding, freshly rendered, and compelling in their own right. In this case, the book is set in London, and the author makes London come alive for the reader. She almost makes it seem like a character itself. She describes it: "There's nothing one could do that would provoke its surprise. It absorbed atrocities, shrugged them off . . .nobody talked to each other or made eye contact on the tube; like an elephant bitten by a mosquito, London was simply too big, too absorbed in its own individual business, too intent on getting to work and going shopping and having dates and affairs and planning robberies." Her prose made me think.
And it was a good thing it did, because the plot - such as it was - really lacked suspense. It was very fragmented. I felt I kept forgetting who the characters were (omg, I wish I had read this on Kindle where revisiting character info is 10x easier) and had to remind myself repeatedly of who they were and who they were related to. One character had two names to add to the complications. In addition, there were some pretty surreal moments that require the reader to puzzle out what has actually happened and more importantly why. I questioned if certain scenes were meant to be metaphorical. At any rate, I don't mind doing some of the work as a reader, but I felt the balance was tipped away from my favor and not in a good way.
To Grant's credit, she saved the situation a bit in the end with a relative straightforward recitation of what happened to each character, and I did appreciate that . . .in fact, it almost pushed me to give the book another star.
fiendfull's review
3.0
A Stranger City is a novel about London, about the people there and how they find it a home or otherwise. It starts with a dead body found on the Thames, unidentifiable. The body affects only a few people, but in different ways, and from there the narrative weaves around their lives, as London's recent past unfurls and then moves into the near future.
A little disorientating at first (in some ways like the experience of moving to London), the novel falls into a rhythm, highlighting coincidence and connection, and how in such a big, busy, diverse city, anyone's lives can intersect. In this way, it follows on from a lot of other London novels, featuring a range of characters who come together in different ways and emphasising how important the city is in this. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of focus on Brexit and xenophobia resulting from it, as well as the idea of London as a place you might be born in, come to, or leave. It is nuanced, but firmly cementing the city as a place for anyone, where anyone might meet.
This is another London novel, another Brexit novel even, but also a character-focused narrative that is more about people than geography. London is less visceral than in some books, the catalyst for relationships rather than a player itself, and this will suit readers who are interested in a novel that doesn't delve into London itself but looks at people, home, and coincidence.
A little disorientating at first (in some ways like the experience of moving to London), the novel falls into a rhythm, highlighting coincidence and connection, and how in such a big, busy, diverse city, anyone's lives can intersect. In this way, it follows on from a lot of other London novels, featuring a range of characters who come together in different ways and emphasising how important the city is in this. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of focus on Brexit and xenophobia resulting from it, as well as the idea of London as a place you might be born in, come to, or leave. It is nuanced, but firmly cementing the city as a place for anyone, where anyone might meet.
This is another London novel, another Brexit novel even, but also a character-focused narrative that is more about people than geography. London is less visceral than in some books, the catalyst for relationships rather than a player itself, and this will suit readers who are interested in a novel that doesn't delve into London itself but looks at people, home, and coincidence.
ansepanse's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.25
emily_bell's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5