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siobhanward'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? It's complicated
2.5
Maybe it's because I know nothing about the history of conflict in Cyprus (which is on me, I probably should know a bit about that), maybe it was the writing style, or maybe this book wasn't my style, because I just didn't get the hype.
I thought the book was fine. It wasn't terrible or anything but I didn't feel engaged and just felt like I was waiting for it to be over. I think there was context that Shafak needed to explain in more detail to get more reader buy-in, because it felt like I was missing something the whole time. The tree's POV was cool, although I felt that I could have used less of it and would have loved to see more from the characters themselves. More show, less tell.
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia, Xenophobia, and War
maggiems's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Did you know that animals migrate? Did you know that "we trees" also have genetic trauma? Sure does make you think huh? All of this may not have annoyed me so much if I didn't hate the voice of the tree to an unreasonably degree. A mix between holier than thou and naive twit! The phrase "We Trees" started to grate me. Perhaps it was the switch between third and first person narration.
So what of the human characters. I am a sucker for a love story and multiple time lines and generational issues. We have one Turkish Cypriot and one Greek Cypriot who embody historic conflict, a teenage daughter who stands for the new generation, and an aunt who stands for tradition. The novel is not very interested in the politics of why there was unrest in Cyprus, but its effects on individuals. Again this is essentially what the tree was there for, to take the longer view, to not care about why the humans came and gone, only that they did. In this way Shafak is going for a universality of conflict could be writing about any conflict.
This kind of links up with Ada's episode in school,
A feature I really did love about the book was
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did and that just always makes a book worse. What would have been a 3* if I didn't know anything about it, is brought down to 2.
Moderate: Homophobia and Xenophobia
Minor: Self harm and Alcoholism
natgzmun's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Xenophobia and Suicide
nessazee's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and War
lynneliu'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, War, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy, Gun violence, and Suicide
cinnamonpizza8's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Grief, Genocide, Drug abuse, Child death, Suicide, Death of parent, Death, Sexism, Racism, War, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Murder, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
rhi_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: War and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Racism, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Xenophobia
mwaskom's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Murder, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Islamophobia, and Hate crime
Minor: Abortion
e11en's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Death of parent, War, and Xenophobia
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