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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Ominously anticipates dystopian consequences of recent events
Bear with me. Am filled with urge to write reviews for books I read ages ago. But this is one of those books and Hanya is one of those writers where you are like: how did u get that good at writing? How how howwwwww??? Its so immensely good. They must have made some kind of deal with some kind of supernatural muse is my only explanation. Favorite part was the 3rd and final but all of the book is so good and made me think about it long after I finished reading.
SUCH a mixed bag. Honestly I really wouldn’t bother with the first 364 pages becuase parts one and two are totally flat, pretty boring and have very little emotional hook. The last part is amazing though, set in a dystopian future riddled with totalitarianism and plague (sound familiar?) If I was Hanye’s editor I would have asked her to jettison the first two thirds of the book, but I think she’s a writer that’s too big and talented to be told what to do by an editor now, which is a shame becuase the flabbiness of the first two thirds is a real trial by boredom, not sure why I persevered other than stubbornness.
It was too slow and confusing at times in the end. Some great lines and moments. Loved the questioning of political leaders and colonialism and language etc but there wasn’t enough of that to keep me reading this long book!
Beautifully written - I love the detailed descriptions and world building. Essentially three novels in one, with common theme of seeking utopia. The middle sagged a bit for me. I could see the parallels to our own times in the third, unnerving. I wanted to see a bit more of a through line - beyond names.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Book 1: So good. Touching, clever, and a beautiful reflection of the wealth gap, and the relationships between the characters is incredible.
5/5
Book 2: Boring. It just didn't seem to go anywhere.
3/5
Book 3: Odd. Some characters felt well-developed, others felt underdeveloped. The two timelines were interesting, but I was more interested in Charles' perspective than Charlie's. The plot moved too slowly in parts, and too quickly in others. The ending felt unsatisfactory.
Overall, this book was good, but parts were disappointing. Could have been 150 pages shorter, especially in Book 3.
5/5
Book 2: Boring. It just didn't seem to go anywhere.
3/5
Book 3: Odd. Some characters felt well-developed, others felt underdeveloped. The two timelines were interesting, but I was more interested in Charles' perspective than Charlie's. The plot moved too slowly in parts, and too quickly in others. The ending felt unsatisfactory.
Overall, this book was good, but parts were disappointing. Could have been 150 pages shorter, especially in Book 3.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
look i really love hanya’s prose. i find the long run on sentences and em dashes and parentheticals oddly comforting. i think this narrative is well crafted. i enjoyed the handful of character names that got passed from book to book; it’s about legacy and lineage. first two books could have been trimmed down, and i loved loved the third book. i think it’s troubling how hanya loves to kill gay men in her novels.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The revisionist history of the first book was difficult for me to like although I did like the characters. The 2nd and 3rd books were much more interesting and complex. The repetition of character names was interesting but also confusing. The dystopian reality of the last book was my favorite. I was appalled and intrigued by the story and the changes of the world.
wow i’m finally done.
this book was a roller coaster.
i started reading it because A Little Life was so brilliant. it made me cry in ways i didn’t think was possible. and i wanted the same. but i didn’t get that.
i think this book is about fear. and what people do in response to fear. this doesn’t invoke tears though, only a type of harrowing sadness that requires long breaks between reading the text. is this a good discomfort? i’m not sure.
this book was a roller coaster.
i started reading it because A Little Life was so brilliant. it made me cry in ways i didn’t think was possible. and i wanted the same. but i didn’t get that.
i think this book is about fear. and what people do in response to fear. this doesn’t invoke tears though, only a type of harrowing sadness that requires long breaks between reading the text. is this a good discomfort? i’m not sure.