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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While reading this, I often thought about David Copperfield. It was funny when one of the characters mentions Dickens because I had already been thinking that though he brought up Oliver and the artful daughter instead. Having read David Copperfield, I can say that this seems to me like it's contemporary so long or cousin. I enjoyed the first good bit but by maybe 2/3 of the way through it really started dragging a bit with monologues. I get it, they were written in a way that sounded very realistic, I could imagine people speaking those words, But unfortunately it also brought with it a reiteration of lines and word vomit, so to speak, so that it became kind of difficult to stay engaged. By the end, I was just kind of ready for it to be over. It's not to say I didn't find the characters interesting, I think it just maybe went on a little too long. Also I was hoping the conclusion might mention Popchyk. 😆 I will say that I also really enjoy antiques so I found the rather in-depth descriptions interesting at first but then it felt like it was sometimes a little too much and got to be a little overwhelming and I kind of just wanted to get back to the action.
honestly best book I've ever read. it's about love and loss and more loss and more love and isn't selling you any way of life. It's enjoyable, heart-breaking, and makes you want to never stop reading it (which is good because its looooooong).
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
Oh I really don’t know about this book, it is boosted 3 rather than a just missed 5 star. The pace was frequently glacial and sentences often overblown. I had tried to read it in paperback and failed, tried an eversion so the size didn’t daunt me but in the end it was the audiobook that got me through. On a long car journey it didn’t matter that some passages were interminable. And sometimes that long windedness worked in pulling you in. That said it might have been the quality of the narration. I think it was trying very hard to be a majestic literary work and sometimes it succeeded; big themes of loss, yearning, beauty and the fragility of survival of people and things. Unfortunately the story was at base simplistic and too pat. Everything was resolved, oddly there was rarely a real sense of jeopardy. Sometimes the writing was cliched; tip of the iceberg, etc.
But Theo came to life and you end up caring what happens, Boris was rather more cartoon like and unreal as were many other subsidiary characters. I liked it eventually and my morning runs will be more tedious until I find another absorbing listen.
But Theo came to life and you end up caring what happens, Boris was rather more cartoon like and unreal as were many other subsidiary characters. I liked it eventually and my morning runs will be more tedious until I find another absorbing listen.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i considered dnf-ing this book many times, but wanted to give it a fair shake. extremely character driven and unfortunately i didn't like theo, the main character. this book was just sooooo long and unnecessarily so, in my opinion. i listened to the audiobook and the prose was great at times, but like that didn't justify how long it was. especially theo's time in vegas like it was so repetitive and drawn out, just to find out he didn't even remember it correctly (at least was blacked out for the interesting stuff). i don't think all that was needed to establish his relationship with borris. i did like the "twist" that he hadn't had the painting since vegas, but like the delusion & paranoia combo was so weird to me. like on one hand he's so scared abt the painting and ppl figuring out he stole it, but he's also on drugs & drunk like all the time and thinks no one knows? i guess that's the addict talking but damn
A bit surprised that this won a Pulitzer. Interesting read, wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It's just really long.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
This book had a really strong and interesting start and I loved it at first. The ending felt like it spiraled into a different genre completely and halted the story instead of moving it forward.