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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5
I love old-school dystopian novels. They're simultaneously horrible and quaint. Quaint because. even if they are set in some distant future, they reflect the times in which they were written in the fear they (attempt to) provoke as well as the outdated prejudices they contain.
So. About this one:
Loved the world-building. However, the reader doesn't get a clear understanding of the Benefactor's motivations or the real reasons the founders of this society have chosen to construct it in this manner. I'd have liked a few more hints in this direction, although the narrator is not really in a position to know much of these matters.
The protagonist is an extremely unreliable narrator. His narration seems to hop from scene to scene without transitions and the reader is left wondering whether some of the presumed-actual events might have been dreams... especially since the narrator is very inexperienced in the practice of dreaming. And he's so clueless that when the reader is left to rely on his interpretation of events the information cannot be trusted. D-503 is a flat character who, although his thinking changes somewhat, experiences little personal growth.
Would have liked a more cohesive plot.
While reading this book, I seem to have expended a lot of attention on comparing it to 1984 and Brave New World. No surprise, it comes up a bit short. Zamyatin didn't have a Zamyatin to crib from.
I love old-school dystopian novels. They're simultaneously horrible and quaint. Quaint because. even if they are set in some distant future, they reflect the times in which they were written in the fear they (attempt to) provoke as well as the outdated prejudices they contain.
So. About this one:
Loved the world-building. However, the reader doesn't get a clear understanding of the Benefactor's motivations or the real reasons the founders of this society have chosen to construct it in this manner. I'd have liked a few more hints in this direction, although the narrator is not really in a position to know much of these matters.
The protagonist is an extremely unreliable narrator. His narration seems to hop from scene to scene without transitions and the reader is left wondering whether some of the presumed-actual events might have been dreams... especially since the narrator is very inexperienced in the practice of dreaming. And he's so clueless that when the reader is left to rely on his interpretation of events the information cannot be trusted. D-503 is a flat character who, although his thinking changes somewhat, experiences little personal growth.
Would have liked a more cohesive plot.
While reading this book, I seem to have expended a lot of attention on comparing it to 1984 and Brave New World. No surprise, it comes up a bit short. Zamyatin didn't have a Zamyatin to crib from.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really interesting og sci-fi fron a Russian exile! Def grandfather to 1984 and the like. Worth the read (& fairly quick).
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated