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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
La casa en el mar más azul. Edición especial: Edición especial con cantos tintados by TJ Klune, Carlos Abreu Fetter
181 reviews
adventurous
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
Started a little slow/boring but I know that was the point to show to contrast the children made on his life and perspective. It was a really well done representation of “found family.” Got me teary at the end. They’re good kids.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Abandonment
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Homophobia
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Extremely mixed feelings.
I definitely get why this book speaks to so many people and why it feels so comforting to them. The vibes are indeed very cozy, and the kids are great. Linus's arc was fine. Not the most satisfying for me personally, but I can see it being incredibly relatable to many readers. In particular, I think that Klune handled Linus's internalized fatphobia pretty well, and the treatment of his fatness by other characters was refreshing. Lucy was my favorite of the kids for sure, and I also enjoyed both of the silly ladies immensely. Any time we focused on the kids and their interests and hobbies, I was having a good time. Some of the bureaucracy stuff worked for me, too, as did aspects of the romance.
The biggest issue with this book is a lack of real, deep, thoughtful worldbuilding. We have no idea why things are the way that they are. There is a magical underclass, but why are they the underclass? What sociopolitical happenings created this regime? What justifications were used by those in power? We really only see the world through the eyes of 1) bureaucracy and 2) the main characters in this book, which means that the scope is small and it should be able to work with limited worldbuilding. Unfortunately, Klune writes in a lot of wider-reaching implications that made it impossible for me not to ask questions, and this is the sort of world where everything falls apart if you poke it a little bit.
TJ Klune has stated that he was "inspired by residential schools" (among other influences) in the writing of this book. I find that incredibly weird of him. Any reading of the children as indigenous-coded immediately further highlights the way that they are used to further the character development of the white protagonist. It also shows a shocking lack of care on the part of the author. If he wanted to use such a horrifying aspect of real-world history to inform some of his worldbuilding choices, then he should have actually committed to confronting those horrors, but he does not, and several parts of the book left a bad taste in my mouth.
Another sign of this book's poor worldbuilding is the total lack of thought put into ways that world history and culture might look different given the presence of magical creatures. You mean to tell me that no magical being has written a hit song? That no US presidents were elected based on their policy regarding magical people? As if. Maybe this vaguery would have worked if the world itself were clearly different from our own, but it wasn't. Don McLean's "American Pie" canonically exists, as do multiple other real-world songs and figures, and absolutely nothing about them is different. Lazy! So lazy! If you're writing fantasy oppression, you HAVE to think through your metaphors and how your marginalized fantasy people interact with the world as a whole. You HAVE to. And it feels like TJ Klune just had no interest in interacting with or developing his own world beyond the main characters and their direct experiences, and I think that's a real shame.
Overall, the parts that worked for me worked really well, and I genuinely enjoyed reading most of this book, but the utter thoughtlessness of the worldbuilding and influences cannot be overstated.
I definitely get why this book speaks to so many people and why it feels so comforting to them. The vibes are indeed very cozy, and the kids are great. Linus's arc was fine. Not the most satisfying for me personally, but I can see it being incredibly relatable to many readers. In particular, I think that Klune handled Linus's internalized fatphobia pretty well, and the treatment of his fatness by other characters was refreshing. Lucy was my favorite of the kids for sure, and I also enjoyed both of the silly ladies immensely. Any time we focused on the kids and their interests and hobbies, I was having a good time. Some of the bureaucracy stuff worked for me, too, as did aspects of the romance.
The biggest issue with this book is a lack of real, deep, thoughtful worldbuilding. We have no idea why things are the way that they are. There is a magical underclass, but why are they the underclass? What sociopolitical happenings created this regime? What justifications were used by those in power? We really only see the world through the eyes of 1) bureaucracy and 2) the main characters in this book, which means that the scope is small and it should be able to work with limited worldbuilding. Unfortunately, Klune writes in a lot of wider-reaching implications that made it impossible for me not to ask questions, and this is the sort of world where everything falls apart if you poke it a little bit.
TJ Klune has stated that he was "inspired by residential schools" (among other influences) in the writing of this book. I find that incredibly weird of him. Any reading of the children as indigenous-coded immediately further highlights the way that they are used to further the character development of the white protagonist. It also shows a shocking lack of care on the part of the author. If he wanted to use such a horrifying aspect of real-world history to inform some of his worldbuilding choices, then he should have actually committed to confronting those horrors, but he does not, and several parts of the book left a bad taste in my mouth.
Another sign of this book's poor worldbuilding is the total lack of thought put into ways that world history and culture might look different given the presence of magical creatures. You mean to tell me that no magical being has written a hit song? That no US presidents were elected based on their policy regarding magical people? As if. Maybe this vaguery would have worked if the world itself were clearly different from our own, but it wasn't. Don McLean's "American Pie" canonically exists, as do multiple other real-world songs and figures, and absolutely nothing about them is different. Lazy! So lazy! If you're writing fantasy oppression, you HAVE to think through your metaphors and how your marginalized fantasy people interact with the world as a whole. You HAVE to. And it feels like TJ Klune just had no interest in interacting with or developing his own world beyond the main characters and their direct experiences, and I think that's a real shame.
Overall, the parts that worked for me worked really well, and I genuinely enjoyed reading most of this book, but the utter thoughtlessness of the worldbuilding and influences cannot be overstated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia, Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Violence
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, Death of parent
Fuck this author trying to make money off Indigenous trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Racism
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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:
Complicated
Best book I’ve read in a long time. It is so heartwarming and wholesome - can’t recommend it enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A warm-hearted and whimsical book with a great message but everything felt too surface level. Good for children or middle grade. I wanted to love this book, but found it difficult to get all the way through. I liked it, but I didn’t love it like I expected I was going to.
Like others have said, I think this would make for a great children’s show or movie. I think it would translate better that way. I do not recommend the audio. I still plan on reading the sequel and hope I enjoy it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Kirja tuo esiin ennakkoluulojen kohtaamista ja erilaisuuden – ei vain hyväksymistä, vaan myös – arvostamista saarnaamatta. Taustalla pilkistelee tämän tästä ajatus siitä, että jokaista tulisi arvostaa omana itsenään, ja jokaista tulisi pitää keskenään tasa-arvoisena henkilönä eroavuuksista riippumatta. Näitä teemoja tarkastellaan kirjassa sekä yksilötason kokemuksina että laajemmin yhteiskunnallisena ongelmana.
Maagisiin henkilöihin tutustuminen pakottaa päähenkilö Linus Bakerin tarkastelemaan omia käsityksiään ja asenteitaan uudessa valossa:
"Vaikka te ette kohtaakaan ennakkoluuloja jokapäiväisessä elämässänne, se ei estä niitä esiintymästä meidän muiden elämässä."
Ennakkoluulot erilaisuutta kohtaan satuttavat kaikkia. Jos Linus ei olisi ollut valmis kuulemaan muita ja yrittämään elää sopuisasti, hän olisi jäänyt paitsi monista hienoista asioista aina rakkaista henkilöistä ja paikoista onnellisempaan elämään. Linus ei siis voi enää sulkea silmiään ongelmalta, joka koskettaa hänelle tärkeitä henkilöitä.
Linusta – ja samalla lukijaa – herätellään siihen, että itselle tärkeät ihmiset voivat löytyä sattumaltakin, ja heidän puoliaan on pidettävä sen sijaan, että eläisi itse tyytyväisenä kuplassaan vain itsestään ja kaltaisistaan välittäen:
"Koti ei aina ole se talo, jossa asuu. Se on myös ihmiset, joilla päätämme ympäröidä itsemme. [--] Sinun kuplasi, mr. Baker, on puhkaistu. Miksi antaisit sen kasvaa takaisin ympärillesi?"
Teos pyrkii herättelemään lukijaa siihen, että kun silmät on yksilötasolla avattu läheisten elämään vaikuttavalle ongelmalle, on yhteiskunnallisen vaikuttamisen aika: tulisi pyrkiä kohti maailmaa, jossa jokainen voi olla turvallisesti oma itsensä ja sellaisena arvokas sekä tasavertainen yhteiskunnan jäsen. Teoksen viesti on, että muutos kohti tätä parempaa maailmaa lähtee yksittäisistä henkilöistä ja kuka tahansa voi vaikuttaa. Vaikka viesti esitetään fantasiamaailman erilaisten maagisten olentojen kohdalla, se on erityisen tärkeä myös nykypäivän arkitodellisuudessa, joka etenkin somessa kuplautuu ja polarisoituu hyvin herkästi.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Cannibalism, Death of parent