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miseryb32's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Death of parent, and Abandonment
fieldsofcow's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
u_0's review against another edition
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
acogna's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Xenophobia
Moderate: Animal death and Abandonment
rachelditty's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Some quotes I liked:
"Sometimes, it's hard to believe this house ever held more than one person," (1:33:38).
"Her hand, warm and roughened from work, fits into his like a gramophone needle in the grooves of a record," (8:54:50).
"Or did you always love the memory of him more than you loved the reality of me?" (14:14:54).
"Growing up with you, it felt like starving," (14:15:12).
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lucy_is_reading's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Abandonment
pagewanderer_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Antisemitism, and Abandonment
charthinksalot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death and Racism
Minor: Emotional abuse
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This is very clearly fantasy Europe, which is fine, but then it has fantasy editions of real religions (with particular emphasis on Catholicism and Judaism). And I'm just not sure how well that was done? There are changes to these religions to make them fit the fantasy world, but they're still very recognizable in some of the structural elements (like having a Pope) and the kind of biases people exhibit toward them (like antisemetic stereotypes). And I just found myself uncomfortable with that execution. Specifically, it felt odd to have the Hebrew terms for Jewish ideals used in the book given it wasn't actually Judaism, just a fantasy religion based on it.
I think the worldbuilding fell into a weird place where it wasn't far enough from the real world to make sense for it not to just BE the real world with fantasy elements used as needed (something like Nethercott's Thistlefoot, for example). And if Saft wanted it to not be the real world, she could have pushed things further away and not used so much from the real world. The allegory could have still landed without it.
Overall though, I did really like this book. I'm just a little confused. Would love to see some own-voices Jewish and Irish Catholic reviews of it, honestly.
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Abandonment
nafisa_tabassum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The story is best when explores religious prejudice and bigotry from the perspective of two people descended from immigrants - the way it tackles the subject matter is nuanced and real. It shows the way bigotry can take different forms and the things people leave unsaid. The two characters are able to connect because of this shared experience and it really adds depth to their relationship. It's fully understandable why these two people are drawn to each other and what they give to each other. There are also themes of parental neglect and abuse, though not physical. It's handled very well and it's often quite heart-wrenching.
I did feel like I wanted more from the fantasy aspect of the book. The fantasy seems to be connected deeply to religion and the bigger world is teased in the story, but not fully explored. There is an act at the end of the book that is genuinely "world-changing". This story is definitely not the place to explore that change or the repercussions of that action, since it's huge and the story is personal, but I was left feeling like a very interesting part of the novel was left unresolved.
Still, it was a perfect light read and I really enjoyed it.
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Abandonment