Scan barcode
sunnyphantic's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is an absolutely beautiful book, and it is an extremely slow read. There are so many complicated emotions, contradicting and informing each other, and all coexisting and appropriate. The way that the book is written, with a lot of focus on prose, set-dressing, and other descriptions, forces you to take your time with it, both to its benefit and detriment. The perspective shifts really add a lot to the book, especially near the end. Personally I feel like too many things were resolved in too short of a timeframe at the end, and these subplots could have been resolved earlier in the book with nothing lost. I really loved this book after I got halfway through it, and it's a bit of a grind to get to thet point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kestrellady's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Overall, this was a really lovely book about healing from tragedy and finding home again when so much of your home has been lost and destroyed. The chapters alternate between Teera, who escaped the Khmer Rouge regime as a child and spent most of her life in the U.S., and the Old Musician, who fought for the Khmer Rouge and was eventually swept up in the purges of the regime.
Many of the Old Musicians chapters are flashbacks to the Khmer Rouge regime and the Cambodian Genocide, so please check the content warnings!
Many of the Old Musicians chapters are flashbacks to the Khmer Rouge regime and the Cambodian Genocide, so please check the content warnings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Torture, and War
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Drug abuse and Terminal illness