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mana_elena's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The person who recommended this book to me described it as "It's an easy read, not in the sense that it's simple but in the way that a conversation with someone you love is easy", and I think that's an excellent description for the book. I was intrigued by the fact that all but three chapters are written in third person, and about the choice for which characters got first person voice, and the strong effect of referring to one character as "you".
I also thought it was interesting how the character we are first introduced to forms the through line for the story and especially how our initial perspective of her affects the other stories she appears in, adding some dramatic irony to other people's opinions of her. The novel doesn't have a main character, strictly speaking, but she is the main character, as far as I'm concerned.
I personally found the second to last chapter a compelling "end" to the story, but I think the author felt it was necessary/honest to have it end the way that it did. I can see how it rounds out the perspectives shared in the book. As a personal preference, though, stories set in the near future break my suspension of disbelief. Egan's predictions for the 2020's are pretty good in many respects and I think suit the tone and message of the book, I just didn't like having to "learn" a new setting in the last chapter.
I also thought it was interesting how the character we are first introduced to forms the through line for the story and especially how our initial perspective of her affects the other stories she appears in, adding some dramatic irony to other people's opinions of her. The novel doesn't have a main character, strictly speaking, but she is the main character, as far as I'm concerned.
I personally found the second to last chapter a compelling "end" to the story, but I think the author felt it was necessary/honest to have it end the way that it did. I can see how it rounds out the perspectives shared in the book. As a personal preference, though, stories set in the near future break my suspension of disbelief. Egan's predictions for the 2020's are pretty good in many respects and I think suit the tone and message of the book, I just didn't like having to "learn" a new setting in the last chapter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Racism
beetle4bugs's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Read this book for my english class. I heavily enjoyed it, and analyizing it’s themes was a highlight of reading. I bought a used copy and had a blast marking/underlining each bit that piqued my interest. Egan has an amazing writing style(s) and it’s given me inspiration for my own projects, 10/10 book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Drug use, and Grief
annaki_laila's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Weird. Good and bad. Once I realised each chapter was the first and last time we'd get each character's perspective, I enjoyed it more - it felt more valuable. Overall interesting. One major thing I didn't like was the last chapter - maybe could've done entirely without it, and made the PowerPoint chapter the last one (I enjoyed that one) - because the cynical take on the future really overshadowed the actual narrative and full-circle-ness, for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Racism, Self harm, and Death
wilycheese's review against another edition
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It's a meandering compilation of sad stories. Some of them are more interesting than others. They're all connected to Bennie and Sasha, but none of them really develop the characters they're about because you get singular access to one moment in their lives. I assume this is to reflect how life works sometimes, but it leaves me wondering what the author was hoping to accomplish with this book. Beauitful storytelling is a perfectly valid standalone goal, but I don't think most of these stories accomplished that.
I obviously finished the book but it felt very Catcher in the Rye, like the purpose of every character was to give the reader someone to pity and drive home a (generally obvious) lesson that people have whole lives by leering at snapshots of their troubled pasts. All of this I'm willing to chalk up to a particular work just not being my genre, but...
My biggest issue is with how hasty and sloppy the last chapter feels. It feels like it's supposed to tie everything together but there's also some pretty specific allusions to great recent historical events that make it feel like the editor made the author cut six chapters where some of that shit was explained. Like... a whole ass war that *has to take place* during the lives of every character in the book, plus some major attack in NYC specifically while most of the characters live there, is just kinda winked at in the last chapter and it comes up in NO ONE'S life in the preceeding 260 pages.
I obviously finished the book but it felt very Catcher in the Rye, like the purpose of every character was to give the reader someone to pity and drive home a (generally obvious) lesson that people have whole lives by leering at snapshots of their troubled pasts. All of this I'm willing to chalk up to a particular work just not being my genre, but...
My biggest issue is with how hasty and sloppy the last chapter feels. It feels like it's supposed to tie everything together but there's also some pretty specific allusions to great recent historical events that make it feel like the editor made the author cut six chapters where some of that shit was explained. Like... a whole ass war that *has to take place* during the lives of every character in the book, plus some major attack in NYC specifically while most of the characters live there, is just kinda winked at in the last chapter and it comes up in NO ONE'S life in the preceeding 260 pages.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Drug use
cgreg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide attempt
autihd_elno's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
I enjoyed this book quite a lot until the final chapter. The constantly shift POV was interesting and overall I found it worked for me, there were only two or so chapters I found dragged relative to the rest of the book. The final chapter didn't ruin the book for me by any means, but something about the speculative fiction element of it didn't land well for me. Maybe it would have landed better in 2010, but I had trouble buying into the imagined future tech. I also didn't much like the character of Alex, and not so much in a like-ability way, I didn't necessarily "like" a good number of the POV characters in the book, but for whatever reason Alex, or his story, felt like a let down, or anti-climax for the end of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Mental illness, Racism, and Fatphobia
Minor: Infidelity, War, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Drug abuse
readbycarina's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death, Self harm, Grief, and Misogyny
yaelaed's review against another edition
Had to DNF after reading the article where a man details why he attempted to rape someone, said writer being a character we are made to sympathize with in an earlier story. I don't think every story needs morally upstanding characters but I just don't get how I'm supposed to be experiencing this story? Either way, it has not been a pleasant experience.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
jadatrack's review against another edition
I should’ve paid attention to the content warnings. There were a few stories that I liked but the majority have such awful people doing awful things that I had to stop in order to maintain any hope in humanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship
traa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Rape
Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Suicide, Death, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Addiction, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Self harm, and Drug abuse
Minor: Medical content, Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Racism, Genocide, and Homophobia