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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
So weird and delightful- I love Gaiman's style of writing.
Maybe a 4.5 but I’ll keep it a 4. I love the writing style so much. The magical realism kept me so focused with this book and read it like cover to cover. Amazing
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found it an interesting read it held my attention. Not my cup of tea though I found it a bit strange.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a weird one. Definitely a good time of year to read a spooky legend/dream/mystery type story. As usual, I love listening to Neil Gaiman read his own books. There were a couple things that made me not enjoy it, though.
1 - I just finished reading Stardust before this, so the existence of Hempstocks in both stories was confusing at first.
2 - OMG, I hated the chapter about the worm and the hole. Just disgusting and triggered my trypophobia lol.
3 - for being a story told from the POV of a child, some details seemed unnecessarily evil/dark.
4 - it was too long. For being a sort of fairy tale, it took too long. Some of the unfolding events didn’t make sense because they were magic of Gaiman’s own creation, they and made less sense the more they were described.
But I did love the “witches” or whatever you want to call them. I like that they had their own sort of magic.
1 - I just finished reading Stardust before this, so the existence of Hempstocks in both stories was confusing at first.
2 - OMG, I hated the chapter about the worm and the hole. Just disgusting and triggered my trypophobia lol.
3 - for being a story told from the POV of a child, some details seemed unnecessarily evil/dark.
4 - it was too long. For being a sort of fairy tale, it took too long. Some of the unfolding events didn’t make sense because they were magic of Gaiman’s own creation, they and made less sense the more they were described.
But I did love the “witches” or whatever you want to call them. I like that they had their own sort of magic.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I did not like this book. I came so close to a DNF twice, once at the beginning and again about half way through. I'm used to Gaiman's funnier and more lighthearted stories and characters. There casual cruelty of the adults in this book felt too real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Suicide
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Infidelity
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was dark and weird and beautiful. Vibes similar to Coraline. I love how Gaiman manages to capture the feeling of memories slipping away, of a dream that you forget the more you try to remember it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence
Although dark in nature, this book was absolutely captivating! I would highly recommend the audiobook read by the author himself.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Some bits were very impactful. It's very much his style so it's not too surprising but it's done pretty well. It won't change your life but it was a fun (ish) few hours. Some of the lore was a little unclear but it's only a little book so I am more forgiving.
Shame he is (allegedly) a nasty man.
Shame he is (allegedly) a nasty man.