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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
No
Ongeveer tot de helft gelezen maar het schoot niet op en er zitten veel losse eindjes in het boek. Dan verwacht je dat ergens wel een consequentie aan zal zitten maar wordt er niet meer over gesproken. Alsof de schrijver het vergeten is. Er zitten zoveel namen in het boek, dat je vergeet wie wie ook alweer is
emotional
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
i can tell as i'm reading something when it's only going to make me a more unbearably maudlin person. binged this audiobook in two days and i feel overwhelmingly now like i should have instead rationed it out over a lifetime. i feel like a child that's been given information or advice they can understand practically but that is inappropriate, even harmful for them to know. like i've been gifted wisdom i can imagine understanding but will not know intimately for many decades. i'm trying to find comfort in it but find myself instead fighting a great despair. tldr: within my reading level but i'm not ready for PG-13 (PG-65) movies yet!
did, however, make me want to gather my rosebuds; though, in a sort of both desperate and desolate way. like i want to gather them real bad but i don't even have the bush yet. i'm just staring at dry dirt. holding a watering can. too scared, but also yearning too fiercely to act, to act.
had me thinking, for example, "wow, human life is so vast and brief and wrenching and mundane... i hope i get to have one." though i think overwhelmingly the main idea is more: it gets better. and it gets worse. and we heal. and we don't.
of course then there's the coda. which i have complicated feelings about. and rather wish maybe. did not happen. i mean obviously. . but like. as an authorial choice
did, however, make me want to gather my rosebuds; though, in a sort of both desperate and desolate way. like i want to gather them real bad but i don't even have the bush yet. i'm just staring at dry dirt. holding a watering can. too scared, but also yearning too fiercely to act, to act.
had me thinking, for example, "wow, human life is so vast and brief and wrenching and mundane... i hope i get to have one." though i think overwhelmingly the main idea is more: it gets better. and it gets worse. and we heal. and we don't.
of course then there's the coda. which i have complicated feelings about. and rather wish maybe. did not happen. i mean obviously. . but like. as an authorial choice
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
2.5. I enjoyed the prose but the chapters felt disjointed and those I never really felt invested to keep reading.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
There’s no three-act structure to this novel, no hero’s journey, dark night of the soul, climax, and denouement. Instead, it’s a life story, beginning in childhood and moving through college, adulthood, and eventually old age. The protagonist is both a gay man and the only son of a lesbian woman, both English and Burmese, both an actor and an observer. David is a fascinating character and easy to spend time with, as are many of the minor characters who enter and exit the story as people generally do in life. It meanders like a lazy river until a surprisingly shocking conclusion, but upon reflection, this also made sense. I’m happy to have read it.
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very lovely book- so beautifully written. It was amazing to follow our protagonist, David, from adolescence all the way through his life. The author did a great job writing him at every age. It also felt very authentic, as though I could be reading a real memoir.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Death
emotional
informative
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:
No
This book moved very slowly, but it succeeded in drawing me in and captivating me. The writing was beautiful, and David Winn pulled me in as he grew from teenager to young man to middle-aged man to older man. I loved how the writer revealed things sparingly. David is a half-Burmese gay actor, and this is the story of his growing up, finding success in art, and finding love. The story of his mom, who’s a seamstress, and her companion, Esme, is also lovely.
“I think I wanted to be found, not to be forever the seeker.”
A beautiful tale about a young British-Burmese boy in the UK during the 1960s. A bit slow for me...quite detailed and wonderful. I appreciate the work that went into the story, just a bit lengthy and not the right time for me to read an epic tale! Yet, I do appreciate the author's attention to detail, addressing the complexities of being at a boarding school, then Oxford, competing with other boys yet struggling to discover yourself. Would like to read more of his work. Had some lovely flashbacks to Oxford!
A beautiful tale about a young British-Burmese boy in the UK during the 1960s. A bit slow for me...quite detailed and wonderful. I appreciate the work that went into the story, just a bit lengthy and not the right time for me to read an epic tale! Yet, I do appreciate the author's attention to detail, addressing the complexities of being at a boarding school, then Oxford, competing with other boys yet struggling to discover yourself. Would like to read more of his work. Had some lovely flashbacks to Oxford!