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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Een wat verwarrend boek omdat werkelijkheid en toneel uitvoering door elkaar lopen. Ik vind wel dat de schrijfster prachtige dialogen componeerd. Met dr nodige kritiek naar volwassenen (en pubers). Hoewel pubers wel pubers zijn. Dus zou ik het accent bij de volwassenen leggen.
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
I really, really liked the story and the way it was written, but I found the layout so confusing. I couldn't keep up with the way it jumped around in time and the stories weirdly intertwined. I thought it was a good, original idea for a novel though.
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is legitimately laugh-out-loud funny, and I was so busy chuckling through the first half that I didn’t notice the story becoming increasingly somber and serious between the jokes. The stylised prose ensures it stays fast-paced and gripping. It’s very well done. I think Eleanor Catton may be a genius. I’ve now read all three of her novels this year and am eager for more ASAP.
Obviously there’s a CW for adult/minor relationship and grooming as this is the central theme of the book. And though the tone remains light, there’s a lot of other confronting themes (which I won’t spoil), so go gently.
But I should also warn there are a few ableist and homophobic slurs and some truly awful jokes. Most of the characters are teens and their colloquial dialogue can be quite offensive and ignorant, which is often jarring (even if it’s an accurate representation).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia
Minor: Incest
dark
reflective
tense
medium-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 decided to write a proper review of Catton's The Luminaries to exercise my faculties a bit, writing it for something other than goodreads, a proper website like. So in the spirit of probity and fair play I picked this up. Catton is a brilliant writer with a profound talent-- this book is an extended riff on a performing arts academy as a space where we try on our personalities before becoming adults. A fine idea for a novel. But there is not much of a plot or any characters and the whole thing is executed in this very nifty but off putting method -- what meager Events do occur are then re enacted by the students playing different roles. There are lots of brilliant riffs and lots more barren stretches of suffocating and joyless noodling. A review elsewhere wrote this off as "shrewd but turgid" which is exactly right. Author is a huge talent but this is not my personal idea of good reading.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
medium-paced