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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
Solidly good and entertaining book, rife with opportunities for discussion/debate/etc. I almost feel like I read this one TOO quickly. I zoomed through the easy-to-read prose, always gripped by the possibility of what might happen next. Since I read the brief author’s bio on the back, I kept thinking of the parallels between WWII concentration camps and the prisons of this book’s world. Similarly, the idea of someone growing up in world wholly disconnected from society and “normalcy” and how someone adapts to those circumstances feels reminiscent of young people who were born into or grew up in a concentration camp. I like the fact that the questions plaguing the characters in the book never got answered and we, as readers, were taken on a similarly confusing and enthralling journey along with the main character.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
bellissimo!!!!!! struggente, alienante, triste
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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:
No
It’s very repetitive, like a stream of consciousness. Knowing the narrator is writing it after the fact makes this make sense, but full sentences get repeated not very far apart and it makes for a slow, frustrating read. Every point needs to be made at least 5 times, as if the reader will immediately forget it when they go to the next sentence. It could be a stylistic choice with the stream of consciousness, but it also seems to be trying to be extremely profound in places, so I would just think it’s poor writing.
For a book that is narrated by a young women who has never met a man and has no knowledge of lust or physical desire, the book focuses way too heavily on sex for the content. It is a minor aspect and only arises a few times (more so in the beginning, much less as it goes on), but it’s not needed at all in this story. If the author didn’t have a feminine name, I would swear it was written by a man.
The narrator gives away the ending too much throughout the story, bits of the present/later happenings break through the retelling and spoils a bit. Keeps readers interested in how it came to be but also loses the mystery and thrill of actually reading the story as it develops.
The narrator tells us less than halfway through the book that the mystery is never solved, almost makes me want to quit reading.
For a book that is narrated by a young women who has never met a man and has no knowledge of lust or physical desire, the book focuses way too heavily on sex for the content. It is a minor aspect and only arises a few times (more so in the beginning, much less as it goes on), but it’s not needed at all in this story. If the author didn’t have a feminine name, I would swear it was written by a man.
The narrator gives away the ending too much throughout the story, bits of the present/later happenings break through the retelling and spoils a bit. Keeps readers interested in how it came to be but also loses the mystery and thrill of actually reading the story as it develops.
The narrator tells us less than halfway through the book that the mystery is never solved, almost makes me want to quit reading.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. I’m still reeling from this.
I picked this book up in the local bookstore on a whim - the blurb sounded quite interesting, but I really didn’t know what I was signing up for. A few months later, both @bookmarks and another friend (both readers with brilliant tastes!) recommended it so I just knew that I had to read it.
It’s tricky to categorise this book - it is dystopic but it doesn’t quite fit into your regular pessimistic dystopic tropes. Yes, the characters live in an awful world, but the focus isn’t quite there and this book is about so much more. There is so much introspection about human nature and human interactions, and how those function in their warped society.
Many things remained unexplained and I didn’t mind that at all - it fit in with the narrator’s nature! In fact, I think part of the brilliance of the book is the narration. The author did a brilliant job creating a character that doesn’t seem to carry any baggage from our world/the world before the events of the novel - a character who observes dispassionately, which makes her observations all the more more impactful.
Just a note - don’t read the foreword. Seriously, who puts such deep analysis (including spoilers) in the foreword? (I have to say that I read everything in a book IN ORDER, so if you’re going to analyse the book, please do so in the Appendix/any content that comes after the actual novel text!!)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Truly a feminine Kafka. A feminist dystopian read well ahead of its time. Brutal, cruel, but also reveals the depths of which we are all tied together by our innately human qualities.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Suicide, Trafficking, Kidnapping
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Forced institutionalization