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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ugh. Look, the prose is excellent. It is a beautifully written book. But, my god, did I hate every agonizing second of it. I hated the characters, I hated their self indulgent pseudo intellectualism and naval gazing, and I hated every reductive trope and every defense of colonialism, intentional or not. I hated Port, but more than that, I hated Kit's journey. Some men do not understand women and think of them as flighty, high strung emotion bombs who are, at their core, basely sexual daughters of Eve. These men should not write women. If I hadn't had to read this for a book club, I would have given up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
Mild spoiler… My experience of this book is heavily based on the protagonist’s journey from spoken language to a non-English world in which spoken and written language no longer work for her. Her worldly experience becomes more direct in the absence of the filters of language we over rely on in our day to day lives out of expediency.
sad
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
medium-paced
really interesting book! visceral descriptions of the long journey and the confusion and terror of navigating an increasingly hostile and isolated landscape
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
slow-paced
I loved this book and am glad I finally got around to it. It’s rare to find such psychological insight and depth, a page-turning adventure plot, and such clear and beautiful sentences combined. I want to read more by Bowles!
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced