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madamelacy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don’t usually read thrillers but bought this on the recommendation of the assistant in Waterstones. It was quite a slow burn, but then the tension really mounts in the last quarter of the book.
Plenty of strong female characters - I’d said to the lady in Waterstones that I didn’t want the women as victims, which is what puts me off thrillers.
A good read!
Plenty of strong female characters - I’d said to the lady in Waterstones that I didn’t want the women as victims, which is what puts me off thrillers.
A good read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Gun violence
velvet_young's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Stalking, Murder, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship
knkoch's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I liked this a lot! It's a great literary thriller, and I ripped through it. The plot, and central conflict, is compelling and definitely not simple. Sure, there's right and wrong, but no easy solutions or clear-cut heroes. I liked the way each character was elusive; I never had a firm grasp, and thus judgement, on any of them. I enjoyed the allusions to Macbeth, especially as this wasn't a direct retelling or reimagining. I suppose this felt more in conversation with that play and its themes of political power, manipulation, gamesmanship, and the way those larger schemes compromise human psychology, personal morality, and integrity. This felt just like Macbeth in the sense of huge power struggles (with enormous consequence) being played out between just a handful of crucial individuals. Yet technology plays such a big part in this too, set in our current industrial-dystopian era, very far from the medieval setting of Macbeth. Macbeth was the first Shakespeare play I read as an adult and felt real things for. I remember the power and heaviness of that story shocked me, demonstrating for the first time why these four hundred year old works are still so widely read and relevant. Birnam Wood makes me think I should reread it again soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gun violence, and Gore
beccaand's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Drug use, and Gun violence
Minor: Vomit
fkshg8465's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I had to restart this book several times because I had trouble getting into it initially. So glad I kept at it. It kept coming up on must read lists, and I’m so so glad it did. Everything about the book - the setting, the characters, the plot, the motivations, the themes - all of it was unexpected. Even though I disliked every single character, I really liked this book. That is a rarity for me.
My only wish was that it had been broken down into more chapters. Because there were only three chapters, it was hard for me to break up my reading in between daily activities.
This is a book I’d like to see taught in AP English and college classes across the US. Is a very well written allegory for the state of today’s world. Starts out slow, but comes to a screeching halt at the end because it speeds up so fast by then that it’s the only way out can end.
My only wish was that it had been broken down into more chapters. Because there were only three chapters, it was hard for me to break up my reading in between daily activities.
This is a book I’d like to see taught in AP English and college classes across the US. Is a very well written allegory for the state of today’s world. Starts out slow, but comes to a screeching halt at the end because it speeds up so fast by then that it’s the only way out can end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Car accident, Gun violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Grief
kelsea's review
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence and Drug use
krmontgomery's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book made me think more than others I’ve read. It started out very slow and picked up pace as it went.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Car accident, and Death
saltycoffee's review
reflective
tense
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? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Death, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Drug abuse
utopiaandmelancholy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Vomit, Car accident, Drug use, and Gun violence
gmaz's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Overall, I did not like this book. I guess I'm a weirdo, because reading other reviews, people did not like the beginning, saying it started out too slow. I very much enjoyed the beginning, and I did not like part 3. The first part, especially, reminded me of Jonathon Franzen or Don Dellilo, psychological character studies, and I wanted more of that. I went into the book not realizing the "thriller" category it was in.
I could not get over Owen Darvish's death by Shelley. It didn't make any sense to me, except to set up all the thriller aspects in part 3. It seemed gratuitous. Sure, it shows Lemoine is a bad person, but that's not the only way. Why do we have to murder people to have be shown people are bad? Murder seems like such a cheap and lazy solution. I wanted the deep psychological aspects of character development to continue, people playing mind games or social tactics to get ahead. I really wanted to know who was going to win—Lemoine, or Birnam Wood, or the Darvishes? In the end, nobody won. We all lost.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Violence