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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What more can I say about such a beautifully and heartbreakingly written book and main character... To say that I can't even put a name on one of my favorite book characters is itself heartbreaking. Words cannot give justice to what this story made me feel, I'll be thinking about it for as long as I exist, I who have known this book.
"It's strange that I'm dying from a diseased womb, I who have never had periods, and who have never known men."
Wow, very thought provoking. And honestly a depressing take from a girl coming of age "post apocalypse." Though I usually don't like having to come up with my own conclusions, I did enjoy this read. Even though now I'll be stuck in limbo for eternity trying to figure out who, what, when, where, and why. Easy to say if I were in the group, I'd be the first to perish from stress and anxiety alone. :)
Wow, very thought provoking. And honestly a depressing take from a girl coming of age "post apocalypse." Though I usually don't like having to come up with my own conclusions, I did enjoy this read. Even though now I'll be stuck in limbo for eternity trying to figure out who, what, when, where, and why. Easy to say if I were in the group, I'd be the first to perish from stress and anxiety alone. :)
This was our book club choice of the month and I absolutely dreaded picking it up - so much so I didn’t start it in time and didn’t end up going to book club! But oh my god, this book was such an experience - I loved all of the snippets of human connection, touch, hope, nature and the general calm feeling it gave me.
I particularly loved the relationship between Anthea and the protagonist, it felt like the relationship of a mother and daughter, whilst also a student and teacher. Maybe I’m giving their relationship too much meaning and that definitely was not the focus, but I just enjoyed all aspects of their connection (or lack of). I also felt the depiction of Laura’s state of mind toward the end was quite beautiful. I just loved this a lot, the writing, the characters, the story - all of it.
I particularly loved the relationship between Anthea and the protagonist, it felt like the relationship of a mother and daughter, whilst also a student and teacher. Maybe I’m giving their relationship too much meaning and that definitely was not the focus, but I just enjoyed all aspects of their connection (or lack of). I also felt the depiction of Laura’s state of mind toward the end was quite beautiful. I just loved this a lot, the writing, the characters, the story - all of it.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this was a very intense, challenging and dark read. as difficult of a story this was, the author had such a poetic way of articulating the thoughts and emotions of the child that at some points felt relatable to myself. she also wrote in such a way that made me genuinely yearn for the answers to the questions the child had even though i live in the real normal world that she for so long yearned to know.
this story became especially difficult at the escape of the women in one of the bunkers. i had hope that once they'd cross the first hill, they'd find a road and continue to venture out and eventually find the civilization they were seeking, but there was nothing, and there continued to be nothing and nothing and all they did find was extremely mortifying. it was so paining to read about their years of walking amounting to basically nothing besides gaining provisions and in as much as it was sad to see the women lessen and lessen until the last two, and then one, it hurt to read about the child ageing and wrinkles forming on her face and the fact that she didn't know her face outside of the wrinkles that had formed on her skin. even in her old age, "the child" is the only name that she had known for herself and for someone that had been steered by hope for all of these decades, the revelation that eventually came to her that there was nothing to be found was so wrenching. i myself had hope that she'd get somewhere and find someone after all the women had left her by death, but there was still nothing and even if the women continued to pursue their expedition, they'd all find nothing, only the atrocious sights of the bunkers they came across that became normal to them. this one was a painful one and i definitely did not expect it to end like it did. even if there was a huge sign of hope, it'd all come crashing down because every human that the girl had encountered, had all suffered the same fate which is this mysterious death.
-0.5 ⭐ because there were parts that i found difficult to follow and there were alot of calculations that i had to keep going back to to understand and keep the flow of the novel, but other than that, what a brilliantly written, but painful novel this was and i highly recommend.
this story became especially difficult at the escape of the women in one of the bunkers. i had hope that once they'd cross the first hill, they'd find a road and continue to venture out and eventually find the civilization they were seeking, but there was nothing, and there continued to be nothing and nothing and all they did find was extremely mortifying. it was so paining to read about their years of walking amounting to basically nothing besides gaining provisions and in as much as it was sad to see the women lessen and lessen until the last two, and then one, it hurt to read about the child ageing and wrinkles forming on her face and the fact that she didn't know her face outside of the wrinkles that had formed on her skin. even in her old age, "the child" is the only name that she had known for herself and for someone that had been steered by hope for all of these decades, the revelation that eventually came to her that there was nothing to be found was so wrenching. i myself had hope that she'd get somewhere and find someone after all the women had left her by death, but there was still nothing and even if the women continued to pursue their expedition, they'd all find nothing, only the atrocious sights of the bunkers they came across that became normal to them. this one was a painful one and i definitely did not expect it to end like it did. even if there was a huge sign of hope, it'd all come crashing down because every human that the girl had encountered, had all suffered the same fate which is this mysterious death.
-0.5 ⭐ because there were parts that i found difficult to follow and there were alot of calculations that i had to keep going back to to understand and keep the flow of the novel, but other than that, what a brilliantly written, but painful novel this was and i highly recommend.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No