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o_romeo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Abandonment, and Infertility
Minor: Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Violence, and Sexual content
green_amaryllis's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Murder, Death, Violence, Pregnancy, Grief, and War
Minor: Death of parent
legs_n_chins's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I will read anything Nghi Vo writes for the rest of time forever.
There is so much packed into so few pages, it’s honestly sort of breathtaking. I couldn't put it down. The story itself was beautiful and stunning. I found myself emotional over characters I had really only just been introduced to simply because of the modest length of the novella. Which I think speaks highly to the writing craft and how much skill the author has when it comes to writing characters with a lot of depth and care. The way plans fell into place was absolutely incredible and so fascinating. So much thought was put into the entire plot from start to finish, and I loved the tangible pieces that Chih picked up along the way that tied into the overall narrative. Everything was just so neatly pulled together and laid out, I honestly wasn’t certain I understood at the very beginning, but by the end it all felt so obvious. It was such an enjoyable journey.
I also really liked the craft of the book. I loved how the shape of the story started to appear and the way it gained clarity as it went along. And I think that was helped immensely by the way it was told, through the mouth of a character recounting events to an objective party. It felt like sitting by a campfire the whole way through, but the added trinkets discovered by Chih enhanced the experience. I think it also added to the mystery to have this reminiscing storyteller voice rather than take the reader on a more active path through the events — none of the information was fed to us and the narrative was given with the assumption that we already know the ending. This way, it felt like there was more opportunity to figure it out myself. If that makes sense. I just really loved the contrasting POVs and story set-up.
Also I just really liked the feminist narrative and that clerics, as I understand it, use they/them pronouns. I was expecting a feminist story and this delivered, but the non-gendered pronouns was just a nice little surprise :)
Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.
There is so much packed into so few pages, it’s honestly sort of breathtaking. I couldn't put it down. The story itself was beautiful and stunning. I found myself emotional over characters I had really only just been introduced to simply because of the modest length of the novella. Which I think speaks highly to the writing craft and how much skill the author has when it comes to writing characters with a lot of depth and care. The way plans fell into place was absolutely incredible and so fascinating. So much thought was put into the entire plot from start to finish, and I loved the tangible pieces that Chih picked up along the way that tied into the overall narrative. Everything was just so neatly pulled together and laid out, I honestly wasn’t certain I understood at the very beginning, but by the end it all felt so obvious. It was such an enjoyable journey.
I also really liked the craft of the book. I loved how the shape of the story started to appear and the way it gained clarity as it went along. And I think that was helped immensely by the way it was told, through the mouth of a character recounting events to an objective party. It felt like sitting by a campfire the whole way through, but the added trinkets discovered by Chih enhanced the experience. I think it also added to the mystery to have this reminiscing storyteller voice rather than take the reader on a more active path through the events — none of the information was fed to us and the narrative was given with the assumption that we already know the ending. This way, it felt like there was more opportunity to figure it out myself. If that makes sense. I just really loved the contrasting POVs and story set-up.
Also I just really liked the feminist narrative and that clerics, as I understand it, use they/them pronouns. I was expecting a feminist story and this delivered, but the non-gendered pronouns was just a nice little surprise :)
Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death and Murder
em_c1aire's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Murder
arkham's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Confinement, Murder, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Grief
indeedithappens's review against another edition
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, Abandonment, Infertility, Violence, Classism, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, War, Colonisation, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Murder
christine_s's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wonderful novella, actually wished that it was longer! Loved how the story unfolded.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
growintogardens's review against another edition
2.75
Was it pretty at times? Yes. Was I lost often? Also yes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Death, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy, War, and Suicide
khargaotte's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Une magnifique lecture, qui m'a happée plus que je ne l'espérais. Je reste peut-être un peu sur ma faim d'en comprendre plus au sujet du monde créé par l'autrice, mais cela ne me donne que plus envie de lire le reste de la série. La délicatesse avec laquelle l'histoire se tisse, avec laquelle les personnages sont introduits au fil des souvenirs de Lapin, permet de constituer à mesure qu'on avance dans la lecture un tableau qui se dessine petit à petit, par touches, laisse apparaître certains éléments et en laisse d'autres à deviner au lecteur. Un vrai plaisir.
Cette découverte n'a d'ailleurs pas été desservie par la traduction de Mickael Cabon, qui est d'une finesse très appréciable !
Cette découverte n'a d'ailleurs pas été desservie par la traduction de Mickael Cabon, qui est d'une finesse très appréciable !
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Xenophobia
Minor: Murder
maeverose's review against another edition
5.0
My first 5⭐️ of the year!!
I was expecting to like this but I wasn’t expecting it to make me cry.
The writing is beautiful and atmospheric, the story takes it’s time and is simultaneously comforting and painful. I always love the ‘stories attached to items’ trope (is that a trope?) and this has that. I was worried I wasn’t fully understanding it at first (with all the ‘do you understand?’ moments..), but by the end I did. Well, I’m sure there are details that I missed but I understood the overall story. This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read I think. Please read it.
I was expecting to like this but I wasn’t expecting it to make me cry.
The writing is beautiful and atmospheric, the story takes it’s time and is simultaneously comforting and painful. I always love the ‘stories attached to items’ trope (is that a trope?) and this has that. I was worried I wasn’t fully understanding it at first (with all the ‘do you understand?’ moments..), but by the end I did. Well, I’m sure there are details that I missed but I understood the overall story. This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read I think. Please read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Classism, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, and War
Forced separation from a child and forced separation from a romantic partner, brief mention of a beheading, drowning and gutting (not detailed).