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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
fast-paced
A philosophical murder mystery about an old lady named Janina who cares about animals more than people. Maybe this is this my future.
Highly readable. Easy to bond with and follow along with the narrator. An enjoyable read. Probably a pretty good reread too, one day.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WHAT. THE. HECK. Olga Tokarczuk is able to lay out all the clues necessary for you to figure out this whodunnit by the 50% mark, but you love these characters so much you refuse to believe it until the grand finale. The most unique voice for a narrator that I’ve read in a while. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
Not one to normally like stories like this but having read this for a class I’m taking I was quite shocked with it and how it turned out. I’m giving it 4 stars simply because a lot of the astrology bits weighed the story down. Also there’s a shit ton of foreshadowing that I picked up and mentioned in class about this story and was shocked when I was right so.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Did not feed the ADHD serotonin monster in time for the library loan to expire. Which sucks because I like the premise. The protag has big 'I am the lorax' meets 'I might be a modern day old wise witch woman' energy.
A very interesting premise, I enjoyed the Blake references and the use of motifs on righteous anger, divine justice and natural order but I felt more could have been done to bring some of these elements together. I also found myself tempted to skim some of the sections on planetary positions and their astrological significance. I felt those long monologues detracted from what was otherwise a good book to read with a really intriguing idea. 3.5 stars