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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
Yes
Adored, adores the first half and the first hundred pages of the second. Read these 650 pages in a couple weeks. Then got stuck for months on the remaining third. It just gets a bit tired. First half is so, so good though. So funny! First half is 5* easy, and on this strength the final rating is accredited.
Ok, so this isn’t a “4 stars as in I think everyone should read it” sort of rating but dang I 1. enjoyed reading this and 2. felt so accomplished finishing it. Definitely more on the character-building side of things vs. any sort of compelling plot. Overall I feel lucky to have gotten to know DQ & Sancho and delighted by their exploits which is I think completely the point.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Language was too antiquated, made it tough to understand.
slow-paced
All tell, very little show that makes the book drag on
challenging
lighthearted
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:
Yes
I changed my rating and opinion of this book the second time through. It is far more complex and nuanced than I thought at first, and it deserves to be read more than once. Initially it appears to be a comic story about an eccentric idealist; on further inspection, it turns out to be a slyly incisive description of human identity, how we become the people we choose to be, how we achieve and fail ourselves and the world. And how others, and the world, fail us. The remarkable thing about all this is that it's hilarious.
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It was a bit of a haul, but I finished it. What I really admire about this book is how it can be read and enjoyed on several levels -- the surface level is satirical comedy that is almost slapstick at times and seems completely harmless. Beneath this is a slippery world of symbolism that reflects a dim view of several institutions, among them the Church and perhaps even Christianity itself. But the characterizations are memorable -- classic, of course -- and the book moves along nicely even though the tone gets to be a little monotonous after a while. This was one of the few readings that I bailed on in college, so I can now take that blot off my moral transcript.
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It was a bit of a haul, but I finished it. What I really admire about this book is how it can be read and enjoyed on several levels -- the surface level is satirical comedy that is almost slapstick at times and seems completely harmless. Beneath this is a slippery world of symbolism that reflects a dim view of several institutions, among them the Church and perhaps even Christianity itself. But the characterizations are memorable -- classic, of course -- and the book moves along nicely even though the tone gets to be a little monotonous after a while. This was one of the few readings that I bailed on in college, so I can now take that blot off my moral transcript.