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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
I am shocked by how boring and dull this book was. It should have been a quick read judging by how short the chapters are, but I kept rereading pages, thinking I must’ve missed something because so little happened.
It took me a bit to get into Kwon’s writing style, but the plot kept me going. In spite of some dramatic plot points, the pace is slow. It’s the characters that draw you in.
I felt very close to the main narrator, Will, for the majority of the book until he does something unforgivable that completely changed my perception of him.
This isn’t a light read, but it has powerful themes. Definitely leaves you with a lot to think about.
I felt very close to the main narrator, Will, for the majority of the book until he does something unforgivable that completely changed my perception of him.
This isn’t a light read, but it has powerful themes. Definitely leaves you with a lot to think about.
Plot: Will meets Phoebe during his first month at a prestigious university. Feeling like a misfit, he’s in disbelief that the beautiful girl he’s dreamed of is interested in him. Phoebe, however, has her own problems she keeps hidden, including guilt over the recent death of her mother. This makes her the perfect candidate to be drawn into a cult which is ultimately named as responsible for a bombing that kills several people. Will is still drawn to Phoebe though, to the point of obsession.
My thoughts: The premise of this book, talking about cults tied to North Korea, a misfit boy and love, faith and loss had me intrigued, but sadly, it lacked the spark of a very good book for me.
I struggled with the lack of speech marks in dialogue – I know it can be an effective technique, and I can understand why it’s used here, to make the confusion of what happened even more vague, but it really doesn’t help me gel with characters. I enjoyed Phoebe’s backstory, the way she’s brought up, and the way it’s seen only through Will’s eyes – a very unique viewpoint where he tries to understand her but doesn’t really – but this technique also made it hard to identify with her as a character and I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to be disliking her for her actions so far or falling in love with her through Will’s eyes.
I just didn’t connect with this book, and it didn’t quite deliver on the promises of a scary cult for me – in fact, everything that happened in the book seemed to be told in short in the blurb and not much extra added! I found we just weren’t seeing enough of the cult to understand the threats it posed with a slow introduction which could have shown how easily it could build to something dangerous, but it seemed to continue slowly to a bang, then back to slow again. It was interesting but not done well enough to really intrigue me.
My thoughts: The premise of this book, talking about cults tied to North Korea, a misfit boy and love, faith and loss had me intrigued, but sadly, it lacked the spark of a very good book for me.
I struggled with the lack of speech marks in dialogue – I know it can be an effective technique, and I can understand why it’s used here, to make the confusion of what happened even more vague, but it really doesn’t help me gel with characters. I enjoyed Phoebe’s backstory, the way she’s brought up, and the way it’s seen only through Will’s eyes – a very unique viewpoint where he tries to understand her but doesn’t really – but this technique also made it hard to identify with her as a character and I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to be disliking her for her actions so far or falling in love with her through Will’s eyes.
I just didn’t connect with this book, and it didn’t quite deliver on the promises of a scary cult for me – in fact, everything that happened in the book seemed to be told in short in the blurb and not much extra added! I found we just weren’t seeing enough of the cult to understand the threats it posed with a slow introduction which could have shown how easily it could build to something dangerous, but it seemed to continue slowly to a bang, then back to slow again. It was interesting but not done well enough to really intrigue me.
While at times lyrically written, the prose tends to overwhelm and muddle the plot of The Incendiaries. The narrative was so meandering that it seems I missed what was claimed to be "a brilliant examination of the minds of extremist terrorists." Per the jacket description, "When the group bombs several buildings in the name of faith, killing five people, Phoebe disappears. Will devotes himself to finding her, tilting into obsession himself, seeking answers to what happened to Phoebe and if she could have been responsible for this violent act." Yet the act of terrorism doesn't occur until page 169 out of 210 total pages (except for an introductory teaser prologue). The remaining 40 pages are anticlimactic and the ending, quite frankly, feels like an unlikely easy-out option to tie things up between Will and Phoebe. Ultimately, this would've been a solid 3 stars for me, had it not been for what felt to me as an entirely out-of-character act (trigger warning) by one of the protagonists in the final quarter that checked me out of the novel. By the end, each of the three narrating characters (Will, Phoebe, and John Leal) were wholly unsympathetic and unlikeable and the story itself forgettable without much in the way of a story. I fear that in a year, I won't remember a thing from this one.
I don’t want to read another novel that so flagrantly disregards quotation marks, Emily said, or one where the two main characters have absolutely zero chemistry.
3.5 stars. A really interesting book about love and watching someone you care about change drastically. It took me awhile to get into the book due to the writing style, but as time went on I felt like it helped move the story along.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The plot is compelling and what had me finish the book. However I personally wasn’t a fan of the writing style
The grammar took me out of it completely and the linchpin of the “undoing” as it’s made out to be felt completely unmotivated. The premise is so so interesting but ultimately a flop for me