Reviews tagging 'War'

Hotel Silence by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

5 reviews

writingtheintangibles's review

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challenging dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Though the novel tackles very tough topics (internal and external conflicts), it does so in a straightforward way that makes for an interesting read

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12dejamoo's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think I preferred this to Miss Iceland but not by tons. It kind of goes in with this depressing premise and slowly works up to something more joyful. It's not in any way sensational so it feels comfortable and pleasantly small

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scruffie's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.5


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aditi_agarwal's review

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dark hopeful sad medium-paced

3.25

An easy read about a man battling depression and suicidal thoughts finding a purpose in life that makes him want to live. 

I found it to be a good and simple read, just a tad bit unexciting and monotonous. There were a few emotional moments in between, especially when talking about the war, and the novel almost perfectly communicated the gradual transcendence of joylessness and hopelessness to purposefulness, however, despite that there were points when it fell completely flat. 

I read the English translation of the book, and the purpose of the intermittent quotes seemed to have almost definitely been lost in translation. I also personally feel a lot of the moments would have probably been more impactful in the original Icelandic than in English. 

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markreadspages's review

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hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It’s quite short, which in many ways added to the charm. I thought the characters were well fleshed out for such a short book and developed nicely throughout. I would love to know how things progressed after the end of the book, but there’s also something nice about leaving it open to the imagination 

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