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justmys's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Kuang’s level of intelligence and brilliance surrounding etymology and translation and her immense skill at bringing issues that are still horrifyingly prevalent in the world to the forefront of the story through a powerful lens were a true gift to read and will be staying with me for a long time to come.
And that’s where my 2.75 stars go. That side of this novel was an astounding piece of work. Unfortunately, the rest of the book had to be consumed alongside it.
I was told that the beginning of this book is slow. For me, the beginning ended up being the first 328 pages. And this is a heavy read to begin with.
I found all of the characters within the book shallow and underdeveloped. So much of their lives and interactions were glossed over. Flashbacks or explanations for their behaviour and decisions were often sewn into the book through footnotes giving them the feeling of an afterthought. I spent the entire time wishing this book would have been at least a duology so as to have given room for us to actually get to know the characters as people, and not just awkward stunted players in a black box theatre production.
The main female characters, Victoire and Letty, were often left T-posing in the corner of scenes, utterly forgotten in place of their male counterparts. When they were used (which was woefully little) they either felt like the author didn’t know their character (as with Victoire) or were an absurd cartoonish creation (as with Letty).
Despite the overall themes being interesting I did feel like I was being smacked over the head with the book at times whilst being asked, “Do you get it? Do you understand? Do you even comprehend yet?” which got exhausting because I don’t think I’m as stupid as this book thinks I am.
This book would have been so much more interesting if the lectures had been edited down somewhat in order to give room for character exploration. I’m certain the characters could have been truly loveable if they had been allowed to exist outside of a 2D space. I said to friends that this book had scope to be up there with Six of Crows or Lies of Locke Lamora if only the characters that inhabited the world were given the same love and detail as the world was.
I do want to give this author another chance so will likely read more of her work in the future. There were so many moments where I was sure I could have fallen in love with her writing if only given more to work with.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Deportation
mishasbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
griffin_7's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
spineofthesaurus's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Excrement, and Car accident
louisegraveyard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
daisy2050's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Misogyny, Suicide, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Alcohol
jo_brekker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Police brutality and Fire/Fire injury
criticalbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation