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elisacarlene's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Violence, Mass/school shootings, War, Ableism, and Animal death
Minor: Dementia and Death of parent
amm0029's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and War
h4ppycupcake's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“Stranger, whoever you are, open this to find what will amaze you.”
A heart breaking, heart warming look at how small we as humans are, and yet we are still deeply, unfailingly interconnected. I hope that as both the beauty and the horror of this world, humanity continues.
A heart breaking, heart warming look at how small we as humans are, and yet we are still deeply, unfailingly interconnected. I hope that as both the beauty and the horror of this world, humanity continues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Mass/school shootings, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Violence, Genocide, Animal death, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death
abaighritz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Death
cronareads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and War
Moderate: Animal death
deziginer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mass/school shootings
One plot starts with a main character preparing to bomb a library where five kids are hidingnicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
giving this one low stars hurts, because All The Light We Cannot See is one of my all-time favorites and I wanted to love this one. Although I loved the idea of the Greek story being the backbone and its entirety appearing in fragments throughout the different narratives, as well as the theme (which I’ll touch on later), the way it all tied together didn’t work for me.
In short, although I usually love a kaleidoscopic narrative, this one fell flat. There were three big twists in my opinion, and they were a) sad (and well, twisted) and b) led to no real character growth.
The two main characters I have issue with were Seymour and Konstance. Seymour as a character felt contrived instead of a truly complex character, and Konstance’s entire storyline ended up being absolutely fucked, and I felt like she had no developed feelings.
I liked Zeno and Anna the best, but I still have some issues with their storylines.
I think the idea of this book is the same as the end of the Barbie movie: to encourage us to see the mess and the imperfections and pain and the overwhelming emotions of life and still say “Yes.” To continue living and feeling and finding the beauty. I do love that theme. But this book just made me feel disappointed. I’m so sorry, Anthony Doerr, you are lovely and I can greatly respect and appreciate the research that went into this one and the homage to books and libraries is a good concept.
In short, although I usually love a kaleidoscopic narrative, this one fell flat. There were three big twists in my opinion, and they were a) sad (and well, twisted) and b) led to no real character growth.
The two main characters I have issue with were Seymour and Konstance. Seymour as a character felt contrived instead of a truly complex character, and Konstance’s entire storyline ended up being absolutely fucked, and I felt like she had no developed feelings.
I liked Zeno and Anna the best, but I still have some issues with their storylines.
I think the idea of this book is the same as the end of the Barbie movie: to encourage us to see the mess and the imperfections and pain and the overwhelming emotions of life and still say “Yes.” To continue living and feeling and finding the beauty. I do love that theme. But this book just made me feel disappointed. I’m so sorry, Anthony Doerr, you are lovely and I can greatly respect and appreciate the research that went into this one and the homage to books and libraries is a good concept.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Death
esophagus18's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Mass/school shootings
tiak143's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? No
4.25
I very much enjoyed this!
It did take me a while to understand what was going on, and the formatting, but I got there. I also found it easier to understand on audio. So, if you’re struggling, give that a shot!
The climate change themes made me really sad, but that’s the whole point of those sections.
I think I would really benefit from a reread now that I know what’s going on. It’s a beautifully written book, and the message is wonderful!
It did take me a while to understand what was going on, and the formatting, but I got there. I also found it easier to understand on audio. So, if you’re struggling, give that a shot!
The climate change themes made me really sad, but that’s the whole point of those sections.
I think I would really benefit from a reread now that I know what’s going on. It’s a beautifully written book, and the message is wonderful!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mass/school shootings and War
smsegal's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Animal death
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Abandonment, Homophobia, and Mass/school shootings