You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly wasn’t a huge fan of this book, felt unsatisfied by it. I feel like more could have been done with these characters.
Ooooook......don't understand the hype around this debut. Kwon is caught up stringing together sentences that physically look and sound appealing on the page. End result; neither happens and the actual story is moot while the characters are lost among the oddly structured text. I was twitching. all. the way. through.
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i dont think this genre of books are for me
SPOILERS
ok this isnt really a spoiler but im not one for a no quote type of writing like i was wondering why the book was off unntil like that happened like there is a reason we put quotes i think at least for me it helps to seperate when someone is talking and not and this really confuses me i really wonder if the author was just lazy or somthin
other than that there is rally nothing that interesting to me its probaly just casue i cant relate on what happened in there but like some of the quotes really mess me up
like i deistinctly remeber the male mc (i dont remeber the names) describing pheobe as like during a montage her "ass tightening it was weird
SPOILERS
ok this isnt really a spoiler but im not one for a no quote type of writing like i was wondering why the book was off unntil like that happened like there is a reason we put quotes i think at least for me it helps to seperate when someone is talking and not and this really confuses me i really wonder if the author was just lazy or somthin
other than that there is rally nothing that interesting to me its probaly just casue i cant relate on what happened in there but like some of the quotes really mess me up
like i deistinctly remeber the male mc (i dont remeber the names) describing pheobe as like during a montage her "ass tightening it was weird
Kwon really nails the heady, somewhat dangerous, aromas and impulses of young love in The Incendiaries, her first novel. Combine that with an intertwining thread of growing fundamentalism and cult behavior and this story is a bit o' catnip for ol' Charlie. Kwon's writing style is a little distancing to me personally, but I don't hold that against this at all. An accomplished debut that holds the promise of even more.
If I could give 3.5 stars I would, this was a good book but parts of it went a bit over my head. I would have liked a deeper examination of some parts/moments in the relationship between Will and Phoebe. It took me a while to get into it, and then once I was in the flow and enjoying it, the ending felt a bit sudden.
I have a booktube channel now! Subscribe here.
Content warnings are, as always, at the bottom.
This is an ambitious first novel that I’m grateful to a friend for recommending to me. The prose is transcendent, the themes are well incorporated and the plot kept me reading late at night.
The experimental nature of perspective in this book was fascinating but I’m not sure it was successful. Something that always eats at me, especially in mysteries, is the projection of male fantasy onto the women they’re following. I get the sense from the book that Kwon sees this too and that she’s reacting against it, but I’m not sure precisely what she’s trying to say except see, look, this is a pattern I am uncovering. You should be uncomfortable. I am a bit baffled by the confusion most readers indicate in these reviews; Will says right up front, “you said I didn’t even try to understand, and this is me trying.” So of course the author and the reader are, ideally, on the same page about this and able to turn and wink at one another as Will projects his insecurities onto Phoebe, turning their meet cute into something she orchestrated for her own amusement.
While I am still processing this sleight of hand, unfortunately the attempt to capture John Leal in a similar vein didn’t add much to the book for me.
Another thing I really appreciated about this book was the unusual and refreshing perspective on faith. The pain of losing it and the feeling of being ‘locked out of the garden’ ring new and true in the jaded and ironic landscape we inhabit, encouraged to believe in little beyond our own purchasing power. Although I’m not sure Phoebe’s shift on the subject felt earned, this could be down to Will’s projections onto his object of obsession.
Perfect it is not, but the Incendiaries is nothing if not thought-provoking.
I’m still chewing on the well-crafted depictions of gendered violence in this book, which were perfectly rendered if oddly absent of...something. Moral condemnation? Drama? Class, too, is handled thoughtfully and illustrates for us the instruments of our alienation at each others’ hands, day by day.
Spoiler content warning, although the book jacket isn’t shy about it: cult, radical belief and extremist violence, rape, sexual harassment
Content warnings are, as always, at the bottom.
This is an ambitious first novel that I’m grateful to a friend for recommending to me. The prose is transcendent, the themes are well incorporated and the plot kept me reading late at night.
The experimental nature of perspective in this book was fascinating but I’m not sure it was successful. Something that always eats at me, especially in mysteries, is the projection of male fantasy onto the women they’re following. I get the sense from the book that Kwon sees this too and that she’s reacting against it, but I’m not sure precisely what she’s trying to say except see, look, this is a pattern I am uncovering. You should be uncomfortable. I am a bit baffled by the confusion most readers indicate in these reviews; Will says right up front, “you said I didn’t even try to understand, and this is me trying.” So of course the author and the reader are, ideally, on the same page about this and able to turn and wink at one another as Will projects his insecurities onto Phoebe, turning their meet cute into something she orchestrated for her own amusement.
While I am still processing this sleight of hand, unfortunately the attempt to capture John Leal in a similar vein didn’t add much to the book for me.
Another thing I really appreciated about this book was the unusual and refreshing perspective on faith. The pain of losing it and the feeling of being ‘locked out of the garden’ ring new and true in the jaded and ironic landscape we inhabit, encouraged to believe in little beyond our own purchasing power. Although I’m not sure Phoebe’s shift on the subject felt earned, this could be down to Will’s projections onto his object of obsession.
Perfect it is not, but the Incendiaries is nothing if not thought-provoking.
I’m still chewing on the well-crafted depictions of gendered violence in this book, which were perfectly rendered if oddly absent of...something. Moral condemnation? Drama? Class, too, is handled thoughtfully and illustrates for us the instruments of our alienation at each others’ hands, day by day.
Spoiler content warning, although the book jacket isn’t shy about it: cult, radical belief and extremist violence, rape, sexual harassment
This book came with high expectations that let me down. This novel traces the lives of Phobe and Will. Phobe finds herself drawn into a religious cult while Will strains to leave his religious background behind. I found the relationship between Will and Phobe fragile. It seemed more one of infatuation then love. The writing style was fluid which also made the time line hard to follow. The novel was dark and felt unresolved at the end. Without having read the jacket flap it would have been hard to know the true depth of the situation being described.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated