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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love this book so much. It explores faith, science, and the human condition in a way that I think is pretty unique (aside from the equally excellent movie).
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Fascinating ideas presented in this book regarding science vs. religion and the origin of the universe. Nothing made me feel more than an early paragraph about discovering the secrets in the stars the moment that light pollution makes it almost impossible to see them....
A slow, quiet, and contemplative "what if" scenario that felt like it was written just for me. This is the kind of book I get a lot of enjoyment out of, but would never talk to anyone about or recommend because I don't think anyone else would get it the way that I did. Which is ironic since this was a book club read that I was forced to talk to others about (and apparently I was the only one that really liked it).
Don't expect a ton of dialogue or really dramatic action at all here. It's there, but it's almost secondary to the background context dumps and the philosophizing, which oddly enough I didn't mind. Also if you've seen the movie, there are a lot of pretty substantial differences between that and this book, which I found surprising.
Don't expect a ton of dialogue or really dramatic action at all here. It's there, but it's almost secondary to the background context dumps and the philosophizing, which oddly enough I didn't mind. Also if you've seen the movie, there are a lot of pretty substantial differences between that and this book, which I found surprising.
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I always loved the movie (despite some scepticism about its ending, which I also still have about the book), and I went into the book expecting it to be a dry, more science-based version of that story. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much I was loving the first half in the same way I love the movie - I enjoyed the set up of Ellie Alloway, the wonder of the universe, the discussions about science and religion, and the hints that Sagan understood a little of the experience of being a woman in Ellie's field at that time (it was unexpectedly quite feminist). I also enjoyed the chapter with the President, she amused me (kudos to the narrator who did a good job getting the humour across there!). There was a very human story - including Ellie's arc as well as all the philosophical discussions - underlying the science fiction story, that was fairly well done. However, at times the writing became a bit dry and infodumpy, especially in the second half, so it lost me (and Ellie, which is probably why it lost me) a few times at that point. I also thought that the stuff about S.R. Hadden strayed too far from the main story, it felt a little out of place and could in fact have been the premise of a whole different story.
I'm looking forward to rewatching the movie. I know it well as I've seen it several times, and I did miss the Hollywood-ness of it in the book - the tension the movie conveys in a few of the scenes does not come across as well in the book, for example. I think they did well adapting it and the few changes they made make sense. Pity they decided not to make the President a woman though ;)
I'm looking forward to rewatching the movie. I know it well as I've seen it several times, and I did miss the Hollywood-ness of it in the book - the tension the movie conveys in a few of the scenes does not come across as well in the book, for example. I think they did well adapting it and the few changes they made make sense. Pity they decided not to make the President a woman though ;)
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
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