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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I listened to this book, so that may have skewed my rating a bit, I believe, because the reader was not very good at differentiating between characters. However, overall, it appears, as if the summary is the entirety of the book. I kept waiting for some answers to how exactly things were happening, somewhat happened, but not completely. I especially was looking more from Mana Z. The concept of the book was interesting, and rather unique for what the author was trying to convey. I just feel like he could have done a better job with flashing out for the end.
A completely engaging thriller that points its dark humour at racism in America. The gruesome crimes portrayed in this book are a chilling reminder of America’s past and its grim present/ future thanks to the Wotsit in Chief and his lies. The orange idiot is hilariously and chillingly depicted as an evil buffoon. Well worth a read - it will leave you thinking!
A compelling read. Part detective novel, part searing political comment, part education on the history of America. All while being genuinely funny at times. The characters seemed real to me as did the place. The use of the Emmett Till case against the modern story is an important reminder of the overlap between the attitudes of the past and the present. I was raised by a mum who played Nina Simone a lot and ‘Mississippi Goddam’ was in my mind a lot when reading.
#bookstagram #libbyapp #justread #recommendedreads #audiobook #thetrees #percivaleverett #novel #emmetttill
#bookstagram #libbyapp #justread #recommendedreads #audiobook #thetrees #percivaleverett #novel #emmetttill
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book was a puzzle—I was never sure if I was reading satire or horror or what, which is my reading flaw, that I wanted to be able to classify it. It started out as a detective story, but with America’s racial past and present front and center—it reminded me a little of Attica Locke—but it quickly grew stranger and stranger. Here’s what that looks like: “The congregation could be seen cresting a ridge then coming down toward town like a tornado. And like a tornado it would destroy one life and leave the one beside it unscathed. It made a noise. A moan that filled the air. ‘Rise,’ it said, ‘Rise.’ It left towns torn apart. Families grieved. Families assessed their histories’ (306). The book’s in flinching speculation about the legacy of white Americans’ racial violence makes it a difficult read, but also a worthwhile one, and Everett’s characters have the ring of truth, even when he is poking fun at them. I will read more of Percival Everett. One note: Please, Graywolf Press, do a better editing job—there is no excuse for substituting “we’re” for “were,” unless you’re editing on an iPhone.
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wow, what a book. I am going to be thinking about this story for a long long time. It is quite something to find yourself both laughing out loud and horrified and appalled all within the same page of text.
The imagining of Trump was just brilliant, so funny and yet so poignant and infuriating (to put it very mildly).
This is one of those books that as soon as you finish it you have to go and google and read other interpretations and thoughts. You wonder what you’ve missed, or how others have viewed the plot points, characters, themes and so on.
This is the 2nd Everett novel I’ve read this year and just devoured within a day or two. I’m certainly going to be reading more.
The imagining of Trump was just brilliant, so funny and yet so poignant and infuriating (to put it very mildly).
This is one of those books that as soon as you finish it you have to go and google and read other interpretations and thoughts. You wonder what you’ve missed, or how others have viewed the plot points, characters, themes and so on.
This is the 2nd Everett novel I’ve read this year and just devoured within a day or two. I’m certainly going to be reading more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder
This was fantastic. Top five books of the year. A must read for every American.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No