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alexjamiestaples's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Gore
spadefootfrog's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, and Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Slavery, Terminal illness, and War
lorenag5's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked this book. Though it came highly recommended and I wanted to love it. And I didn’t. This said, some of things that made me not love it are things that may be right up the alley of other readers: an omniscient third person narrative voice that can sometimes feel a little emotionally detached (not to be confused with the book being unemotional, it’s a very emotional book. Only that the narrator is giving us that emotion from a very outside perspective), and nearly every chapter featuring a totally new central character all linked together through living in or attachment to a single house over centuries.
Which for me, I tend to be attracted to very character driven books, and so being presented with a new central character each chapter just as I was getting to know the previous one was difficult for me to get into. But what I will say is, the book is super interesting. It’s very concept driven and the concept is incredibly compelling. One of the things I really did love in its concept was the usage of ephemera. Oftentimes, between chapters, there would be things like photographs, news clippings, obituaries, poems, journal excerpts, etc, which really made the world feel so real and palpable.
So for those who love somewhat experimental concept driven books, you will likely love this. And there are multiple characters who I did find incredibly compelling and was sad to depart from so quickly when the book moved on to a new inhabitant of the house. The book is also undeniably very well written and constructed. I think that while it wasn’t a five star read for me, it would be a five star read for many others. In fact I already recommended it to two different friends who I think would absolutely lose their minds over this book based on their reading tastes. So don’t let my criticism deter you if this is the kind of storytelling you like!
Which for me, I tend to be attracted to very character driven books, and so being presented with a new central character each chapter just as I was getting to know the previous one was difficult for me to get into. But what I will say is, the book is super interesting. It’s very concept driven and the concept is incredibly compelling. One of the things I really did love in its concept was the usage of ephemera. Oftentimes, between chapters, there would be things like photographs, news clippings, obituaries, poems, journal excerpts, etc, which really made the world feel so real and palpable.
So for those who love somewhat experimental concept driven books, you will likely love this. And there are multiple characters who I did find incredibly compelling and was sad to depart from so quickly when the book moved on to a new inhabitant of the house. The book is also undeniably very well written and constructed. I think that while it wasn’t a five star read for me, it would be a five star read for many others. In fact I already recommended it to two different friends who I think would absolutely lose their minds over this book based on their reading tastes. So don’t let my criticism deter you if this is the kind of storytelling you like!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
vireogirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Very disparate, some chapters much harder to read than others. The randomness was too much for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
blankcrayon's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
2.0
Interesting concept, but I didn’t enjoy the execution. I found myself wanting to finish the book, and I didn’t connect with the characters. The fantasy elements brought in toward the second half of the book were also not my cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual content and War
emjay2021's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fantastic. I started with the print book, but was having a hard time getting through it and had to return it to the library. Then I picked it up again as an audiobook and loved it. Don’t know if it was because of the different format, but the different narrators are all excellent and really add to the experience of the story. I felt like I was sitting around a fire with people taking turns telling stories about the land we were sitting on.
I loved all the callbacks to previous chapters and the recurring characters, human and non-human alike. THE BEETLES! Some stories were funny, some suspenseful, some poignant. There is something special about this book. Highly recommended if you like historical fiction and linked stories with a strong sense of place and detailed description. I’m so glad I gave it another chance.
I loved all the callbacks to previous chapters and the recurring characters, human and non-human alike. THE BEETLES! Some stories were funny, some suspenseful, some poignant. There is something special about this book. Highly recommended if you like historical fiction and linked stories with a strong sense of place and detailed description. I’m so glad I gave it another chance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, and Murder
mmccombs's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I absolutely adored this book! So creative and fresh, the prose was lovely and the mix of mediums (chapters, letters, songs, images) was so engaging. Following one house through time made for an incredibly interesting character study, the setting being the main character and the people flowing in and out of it character development. The way nature was described filled me with wonder and made me want to go on a hike (and I do not hike!), but also made me interrogate how humans have perceived “nature” over time. I loved thinking about how each inhabitant of the yellow house came to it with different intentions, with different relationships to the solitude and wildness it offered. And seeing how characters we meet show up later for other characters, how their actions are remembered when so much of their context is lost to time. It was also unexpectedly pretty funny, like there was some silly content and really funny bits that caught me by surprise. Basically this was a book that I enjoyed just thinking about, one that I will probably continue to engage with and reread!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
emily_koopmann's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Murder
mercourier's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved how this book pulls you in and doesn't let go. Told in short bursts of interconnected, story song and poetry, every chapter is a bit different but and though each section is about a human (or insect or small mammel) it's ultimately about the land and the house and the memories they hold. Just wonderful writing and story. I'll be back at some point for a reread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Car accident and Schizophrenia/Psychosis