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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this wanting more after having watched the anime (which I adored). So far the first volume hasn’t quite given me the same feeling. The first half of the book is mainly a collection of short stories which aren’t my favorite but are interesting enough. They do bring out the same sentimental feelings in me as the anime. However in the anime they are more impactful because they aide in Violet’s development whereas here she takes a background seat making it harder to connect with her as a character. The last chapter which makes up the second half of the book was my favorite. I enjoyed how it allowed a more intimate look into Gilbert’s emotions. It was here that I finally felt able to connect to the characters. I will read the second volume because I feel there will be more story development, but the first volume was certainly not my favorite book ever.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Weird. Why did violet have to end up with gilbert in the end when their relationship could actually pass as father-daughter. She was like, what, 10(?) when they first met and Gilbert, I think was the name of the man ( sorry I'm lousy with names ), was like 20????
CW: attempted sexual assault, attempted sexual assault against children
An interesting but rather badly written and framed story about a letter writer/observer who was formerly a child soldier/weapon that I'm kind of amazed was somehow turned into the rather enjoyable Netflix series and films by Kyoto Animation.
I'm only reading a translation, so maybe in Japanese it's much better, but the prose is halting and frustrating, and character development is bizarre. It's not a fun read by any stretch of the imagination, even before you look at the actual despicable content.
If you're looking for what inspired parts of the series, four of the chapters in this novel were adapted into episodes in the anime, along with part of chapter six. Chapter five, which is about Violet visiting a prisoner, was not, likely to keep the show rating down, and likely for the same reason parts of chapter six did not make it into the anime and films almost entirely. Chapter six concerns the time Dietfried gave Violet to Gilbert, and actually details more about Dietfried and Violet's first meeting, Dietfried's thoughts on the matter, more about Dietfried and Gilbert's relationship, and Gilbert training Violet to be more useful to him on the battlefield.
Most of the chapters are from the point of view of male characters looking at Violet, save for one chapter, often in ways that objectify her, mentioning their own lust and sexism. As we're never given a window into Violet's POV, it keeps her thoughts and reasoning closed off, and is kind of... creepy to read, honestly. You can only read so many times, or how weird total strangers were to her as an adult. The anime modified this by keeping the focus on Violet for almost the entire story, save in a few cases where the POV was on clients, and Violet often felt just as much an active participant in the POV as the clients were. In the anime, a few male clients were also not given POV roles, or their roles were minimized, so it helped a lot. And the emphasis was most often on the fact that we were in Violet's head, not theirs.
While I do appreciate learning more about Violet and Dietfried and Gilbert's backstories, and even Hodgins to some extent, I feel like we only have more questions, and the answers we got only make this universe stranger. I suppose you could argue that war is hell and soldiers and their commanding officers often make horrendous decisions, so that's accurate, but the entire scenario of how Violet ended up at Gilbert's side is... even more ridiculous when told almost in full like this.
It's really not a great read. I'd suggest just watching the anime.
An interesting but rather badly written and framed story about a letter writer/observer who was formerly a child soldier/weapon that I'm kind of amazed was somehow turned into the rather enjoyable Netflix series and films by Kyoto Animation.
I'm only reading a translation, so maybe in Japanese it's much better, but the prose is halting and frustrating, and character development is bizarre. It's not a fun read by any stretch of the imagination, even before you look at the actual despicable content.
If you're looking for what inspired parts of the series, four of the chapters in this novel were adapted into episodes in the anime, along with part of chapter six. Chapter five, which is about Violet visiting a prisoner, was not, likely to keep the show rating down, and likely for the same reason parts of chapter six did not make it into the anime and films almost entirely. Chapter six concerns the time Dietfried gave Violet to Gilbert, and actually details more about Dietfried and Violet's first meeting, Dietfried's thoughts on the matter, more about Dietfried and Gilbert's relationship, and Gilbert training Violet to be more useful to him on the battlefield.
Most of the chapters are from the point of view of male characters looking at Violet, save for one chapter, often in ways that objectify her, mentioning their own lust and sexism. As we're never given a window into Violet's POV, it keeps her thoughts and reasoning closed off, and is kind of... creepy to read, honestly. You can only read so many times
Spoiler
how often she was at risk of being assaulted as a childWhile I do appreciate learning more about Violet and Dietfried and Gilbert's backstories, and even Hodgins to some extent, I feel like we only have more questions, and the answers we got only make this universe stranger. I suppose you could argue that war is hell and soldiers and their commanding officers often make horrendous decisions, so that's accurate, but the entire scenario of how Violet ended up at Gilbert's side is... even more ridiculous when told almost in full like this.
It's really not a great read. I'd suggest just watching the anime.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood
Minor: Child death, Rape, Terminal illness, Murder
Holy crap this was a rollercoaster. For some reason I will always love stories which include an emotionless/traumatised main character/s journey into finding love and acceptance and this was no exception. Jumping timelines, flashbacks and individual stories that all fit together were all included in this too. This book is just so beautiful and heartwarming.
thank you Pinterest for showing me a picture of Violet and causing me to search up this masterpiece
thank you Pinterest for showing me a picture of Violet and causing me to search up this masterpiece
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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:
Complicated
I am not sure which translation I read (I think the one I read I actually found on AO3), but I hope they release an official one at some point.
Some of the stories in here I loved and they definitely felt more rounded out than in the anime. But at times, I felt we learned a little too much and some of it made me uncomfortable.
I love Violet Evergarden though and am looking forward to continuing. I’m very eager to get to the last 2 as I’ve heard they diverge from the anime and end differently.
Some of the stories in here I loved and they definitely felt more rounded out than in the anime. But at times, I felt we learned a little too much and some of it made me uncomfortable.
I love Violet Evergarden though and am looking forward to continuing. I’m very eager to get to the last 2 as I’ve heard they diverge from the anime and end differently.
Violet Evergarden, the story of hope, pain, and love.