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mcpieters's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I honestly feel so conflicted with this book. I enjoyed the story a lot and the themes of generations lost and grief and exploration. However, one of the main romantic relationships in the books is incestuous and I don’t think I ever really got over that… I feel like the author painted it in a positive light which felt a bit icky. I wish they had chosen to have a forbidden love affair in some other way than cousins but oh well! Otherwise the book was really good I thought! Very fun to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Incest
emisnake's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
I saw reviews critisising the incest. And it's cousins so like on the edge? Weird but fine I can get over that. But then at one specific point it got really preachy and in depth about how it was perfectly fine and honestly that completely weirded me out. Felt like the author was on the defensive within the book!
Only really cared for the mother/son part of the narrative.
I don't hate that I've read it, but probably wouldn't recommend it
Only really cared for the mother/son part of the narrative.
I don't hate that I've read it, but probably wouldn't recommend it
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest
islanderscaper's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Suicide
glitchkitsch's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Incest, Medical content, and Cancer
sophiegs's review against another edition
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Incest
Moderate: Death of parent and Mental illness
funktious's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A lovely book - I think I’d come across this before but it was also highly recommended by the Storygraph alogorithm, so well done for that, as this definitely hit all my buttons of home as a “place” you feel connected to (or not,) staying home versus leaving, different types of ghosts… I loved the French half of the story most, though really felt for Roisin and her difficult choices. And I loved the comets holding it all together, such a beautiful idea. A great read to end the year on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Incest
ktmomma's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Comet Seekers tells a story of two people whose fate seems intertwined. But not convincingly. It’s a romance, but without the burn. Overall, I enjoyed the writing style. The story flowed well. The writing and the supporting cast kept me engaged. The two main characters fell a little flat. There was a Wuthering Heights/tragic first love element that seemed to hobble one character. The other never found his voice. At the end it seemed like everyone but the main characters found their peace, but we can’t really tell if the main characters found peace or just each other or neither.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Suicide, Mental illness, and Death of parent
missbear's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Reading The Comet Seekers was a deliberate experiment. It was the first book recommended to me by the fantastic algorithm at the Storygraph and I could immediately see why based on what I said I loved to read about: the natural sciences and scientists, ensemble casts and books that cover large periods of time, books that capture a sense of wonder and a strong sense of place, books that weave together different plotlines. BUT, there was one problem: the book had a 3.54 rating, well below my self-imposed threshold of 3.7.
The Storygraph says this shouldn't be a problem. Part of the idea of their algorithm is to stop people from putting too much stock in ratings: after all, many books have niche audiences that love them, even if many people don't, and wouldn't it be sad if you passed up on a book that would be perfect for you just because thousands of people with whom you share no reading tastes in common at all didn't like it? I'm pretty convinced by this argument, so I gave it a chance.
Reader, I loved it. I know exactly why this book has such a low rating. It is written in a strange (yet beautiful and lyrical) way, without quotation marks, something I'm sure many readers hate. It is focused pretty closely on an incestuous relationship between cousins that is presented as romantic and tragic, not criticized or condemned, something I'm sure many readers found off-putting. It is magical realism, but in an extremely odd and entirely unexplained way, something I'm sure many readers found baffling. I understand all of this. But for me, the atmosphere, the skill with which Sedgwick wove her disparate plotlines together, the emotion, the lyrical prose, the science - it just sparkled.
The Storygraph says this shouldn't be a problem. Part of the idea of their algorithm is to stop people from putting too much stock in ratings: after all, many books have niche audiences that love them, even if many people don't, and wouldn't it be sad if you passed up on a book that would be perfect for you just because thousands of people with whom you share no reading tastes in common at all didn't like it? I'm pretty convinced by this argument, so I gave it a chance.
Reader, I loved it. I know exactly why this book has such a low rating. It is written in a strange (yet beautiful and lyrical) way, without quotation marks, something I'm sure many readers hate. It is focused pretty closely on an incestuous relationship between cousins that is presented as romantic and tragic, not criticized or condemned, something I'm sure many readers found off-putting. It is magical realism, but in an extremely odd and entirely unexplained way, something I'm sure many readers found baffling. I understand all of this. But for me, the atmosphere, the skill with which Sedgwick wove her disparate plotlines together, the emotion, the lyrical prose, the science - it just sparkled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
sepitz's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Suicide, Animal death, and Sexual content
1848pianist's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest