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deethereader's review
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was one that I found disturbing, fascinating and heart wrenching all at the same time. I loved the barely there magic and the mystery components. This is what kept me reading until the end. I did struggle with some of the translation as it felt incomplete in places and I would have to reread passages to make sure that I got the point the author was writing about. I did find the main character Emma and the discovery of her family history endearing and not being very informed about the history of the country enlightened as to the struggles of that time for the people of that country. All in all a great read.
This book was one that I found disturbing, fascinating and heart wrenching all at the same time. I loved the barely there magic and the mystery components. This is what kept me reading until the end. I did struggle with some of the translation as it felt incomplete in places and I would have to reread passages to make sure that I got the point the author was writing about. I did find the main character Emma and the discovery of her family history endearing and not being very informed about the history of the country enlightened as to the struggles of that time for the people of that country. All in all a great read.
deethereader's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was one that I found disturbing, fascinating and heart wrenching all at the same time. I loved the barely there magic and the mystery components. This is what kept me reading until the end. I did struggle with some of the translation as it felt incomplete in places and I would have to reread passages to make sure that I got the point the author was writing about. I did find the main character Emma and the discovery of her family history endearing and not being very informed about the history of the country enlightened as to the struggles of that time for the people of that country. All in all a great read.
This book was one that I found disturbing, fascinating and heart wrenching all at the same time. I loved the barely there magic and the mystery components. This is what kept me reading until the end. I did struggle with some of the translation as it felt incomplete in places and I would have to reread passages to make sure that I got the point the author was writing about. I did find the main character Emma and the discovery of her family history endearing and not being very informed about the history of the country enlightened as to the struggles of that time for the people of that country. All in all a great read.
amebarre's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
thecommonreaders's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
vspinazola's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at page 113. Didn't like the writing style - not sure if that is due to the translation.
hagocpanna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
5.0
adelaideofthehollow's review
3.0
It feels like a translation, and had a hard time keeping my attention. If you read translations and it doesn't bother you I recommend this one.
taliaissmart's review against another edition
DNF p. 230
May return to this eventually. The writing is strong, but it’s so episodic that I can’t find any momentum to continue.
May return to this eventually. The writing is strong, but it’s so episodic that I can’t find any momentum to continue.
sobiereads's review against another edition
3.0
strange, rich and compelling, but despite not being able to read the original hungarian, i am convinced the translation does it a disservice. did you know that the actual translation of the title is bonfire, not bone fire? thats a big fuckup, guys! and that's the TITLE OF THE BOOK. I cannot even imagine what that means for the rest of the novel, so I've decided the list of things i didn't like about the writing style (weird descriptions, stilted dialogue, overusage of the word cunt for some reason) are a bad translation. which is really unfortunate, because this book has so much going on that i did like.
if you would like an example of great translation, go read han kang's work. thank you deborah smith <3
if you would like an example of great translation, go read han kang's work. thank you deborah smith <3
katiequack's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0