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alanp's review against another edition
5.0
"This book will change your life. An instant classic"- Daily Telegraph
It's too soon to tell if that was life-changing, but fuck me it was good!
There were moments where I had to stop reading and just sit there... take a minute to regroup.
Maybe a TINY bit slow in some parts of the first half, but amazing. Second half had me up until all hours because I couldn't put it down.
9.2/10
It's too soon to tell if that was life-changing, but fuck me it was good!
There were moments where I had to stop reading and just sit there... take a minute to regroup.
Maybe a TINY bit slow in some parts of the first half, but amazing. Second half had me up until all hours because I couldn't put it down.
9.2/10
midwifereading's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like it. Its opening pages gripped me right away, and I settled in for a gloriously rich and well-told dark and dramatic tale. The writing really is quite beautiful, some of the loveliest I have read.
But then it let me down.
It became frustrating as character after character was introduced and discarded, useless to the plot, or even to the protagonist's character arc.
The mysteries unraveled were disappointing, as the reveal usually came through long side stories conveniently placed. Near the end, a virtual novella outlines, point for point, what actually happened through the voice of a woman who really didn't much matter until then. I couldn't help and wonder why she didn't tell the story from the beginning in the first place? Here at last was the meat of the story, told directly and just as beautifully as the rest of the book. It is, by far, the best section of the book!
There were also so many small plot holes, mistakes in detail, and trailing subplots, it was distracting. Drove me crazy!
I am vaguely dissatisfied, yet still appreciate the myriad beautiful sentences sprinkled throughout. Never have I read such a beautifully written, wholly unimpressive story filled with characters I didn't like and couldn't care about, no matter how hard I tried. I almost DNF'd it. If it weren't for the beautiful writing, I probably would have given up halfway through.
Sigh.
But then it let me down.
It became frustrating as character after character was introduced and discarded, useless to the plot, or even to the protagonist's character arc.
The mysteries unraveled were disappointing, as the reveal usually came through long side stories conveniently placed. Near the end, a virtual novella outlines, point for point, what actually happened through the voice of a woman who really didn't much matter until then. I couldn't help and wonder why she didn't tell the story from the beginning in the first place? Here at last was the meat of the story, told directly and just as beautifully as the rest of the book. It is, by far, the best section of the book!
There were also so many small plot holes, mistakes in detail, and trailing subplots, it was distracting. Drove me crazy!
I am vaguely dissatisfied, yet still appreciate the myriad beautiful sentences sprinkled throughout. Never have I read such a beautifully written, wholly unimpressive story filled with characters I didn't like and couldn't care about, no matter how hard I tried. I almost DNF'd it. If it weren't for the beautiful writing, I probably would have given up halfway through.
Sigh.
bookworm_713's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
linakva's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
florchusb's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so beloved to me, I read it as a teenager and found it fascinating and dark. Its treatment of the hardships brought by the war and family drama takes a new dimension on Zafón pen. I reread it as an adult and fell even harder for its story, this book and all the others by this author have some raw connection to my soul that I both enjoy and suffer while reading.
It's a must read for history lovers and I recommend reading it in Spanish if given the chance, you're not gonna regret it!
It's a must read for history lovers and I recommend reading it in Spanish if given the chance, you're not gonna regret it!
weird_fishes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
flosunshine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really liked the plot!! It could’ve been a 4 o 5 star read, but just 3 for 2 reasons;
I reaaaally didn’t like the main character, I just didn’t care about him at all.
Also, the worst thing for me was that it’s kind of sexists. And not in a way that they are trying to criticize it, so I feel like it ruined a lot of the enjoyment for me. There were just a lot of sexist comments that made me uncomfortable, but they were just comments so I just ignored it.
But overall it’s a nice book, I would still recommend it
I reaaaally didn’t like the main character, I just didn’t care about him at all.
Also, the worst thing for me was that it’s kind of sexists. And not in a way that they are trying to criticize it, so I feel like it ruined a lot of the enjoyment for me. There were just a lot of sexist comments that made me uncomfortable, but they were just comments so I just ignored it.
But overall it’s a nice book, I would still recommend it
pecas1010's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75