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sydneybedell's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Violence, War, Death of parent, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Homophobia, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism
s3lin's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Hate crime, Death, Homophobia, and War
Moderate: Abortion and Alcoholism
atipsygiraffe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: War and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Homophobia
rieviolet's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Also, the final revelation left me a bit perplexed, I was not expecting it and I think that it added an ulterior element of magical realism that felt a bit like too much.
Still, the writing style was really good, maybe just at times it felt a bit overdone, that is overly sentimental for my taste or going a bit overboard with the metaphors.
Overall it was a nice reading experience, that taught me a lot about the natural world and about a time and place that I knew nothing about.
Also, please give me an entire book on Yiorgos and Yusuf's backstory (*crying in extreme sadness*).
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Gun violence, Death, War, Abortion, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Child death, Drug abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Infidelity, Cancer, Torture, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicide
atamano's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Death, Death of parent, War, Animal death, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy
rey_therese07's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: War, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Death
Minor: Alcoholism
rhii_reading's review against another edition
- 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
Shafak conveys all the complexities of being a child to an immigrant and feeling different to everyone else, as well as the loneliness and sometimes anger at having what feels like a whole part of your heritage unavailable to you. The only part of the novel that doesn’t feel fully explored is Ava’s school bullying storyline, which at times feels like an over exaggeration of the power of social media and at others like a districting side plot to more engaging stories. However, this novel still feels like it satisfyingly fleshes out and develop all its characters to appropriate amounts. Ultimately, the story is reflective rather than needing to come to any specific answers about characters’ futures, remaining hopeful that it is always possible to move forward and find renewal.
Initially I thought the fig tree chapters were going to be too self indulgent and overly whimsical, but they became one of my favourite things about the novel, especially towards the end. Her chapters often offered a different, but no less poignant, perspective of the novels events, and often neatly tied into the immigrant experience that the novel attempts to encompass.
It can feel belittling or even offensive to draw parallels between (often white) eco-criticism, trauma, and war, but here I think Shafak manages to balance themes without trivialising human suffering in the face of the importance of nature or, more specifically, trees. Whether it is immigrant parents, political conflict, or tree generations, the past continuously informs the present, for better or for worse.
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Homophobia and Alcoholism
Minor: Mental illness
novemberreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Abortion
alexhaydon's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Racism, War, and Murder
rosalind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: War, Grief, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders