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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Colson Whitehead is very good at transporting the reader back to a very specific time and place.
wanted to be deacon King Kong but wasn’t. I liked it but just didn’t live up to my expectations
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
Not what I usually read. Very different from other books of the author’s. Good enough that I’ll read the sequel.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Written like connected stories, but about the same person, this book works a similar vein to that of James McBride's Deacon King Kong: the city-within-the city that belongs to the Black denizens, the boundaries enforced by the white power structure but the interior its own universe. Carney, the protagonist, is a striver with a college degree in business, one generation removed from his crooked father's doings. Except, not so removed--Carney keeps his hand in, partly through family obligations, partly just to have another income stream, his own.
The first book I read by CW was a book that I found to be underpopulated; the second was, too, but in a way that worked for its story. Then, The Nickel Boys, a fictionalized story about the horrors of a reform school for black youth, seemed to overcome that habit; this book feels plenty busy, full of life. But it's also very talky--action takes longer than action should. It was good, interesting, absorbing, but not compelling.
The first book I read by CW was a book that I found to be underpopulated; the second was, too, but in a way that worked for its story. Then, The Nickel Boys, a fictionalized story about the horrors of a reform school for black youth, seemed to overcome that habit; this book feels plenty busy, full of life. But it's also very talky--action takes longer than action should. It was good, interesting, absorbing, but not compelling.
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
fast-paced