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kiwij96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The idea behind the story is fantastic- an insight into 19th century England and colonialism, using translation magic to show the importance of global languages. It was unashamedly uncomfortable at times which is exactly what it should be. But the characters just felt too...self-righteous, or over-clever, and that ruined it for me sometimes. These characters were supposed to be friends yet all they ever did was make each other seem "stupid" compared to their own individual capabilities.
It took me 2 months to get through this and I almost DNF'ed it 3 times because the writing was just so heavy. When I actually had the time to sit and read it properly, I was counting down the pages until it ended. However, had I DNF'ed, I wouldn't have experienced the last 2 sections of the book where the events of the book really came into their own. But it really shouldn't have taken over 300 pages to start enjoying a book.
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, War, Xenophobia, Grief, Classism, Death of parent, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use
uranaishi'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
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Torture, Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Racism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Violence, Medical content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Sexism, Abandonment, Classism, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Car accident, Child death, War, Rape, Genocide, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Infidelity, and Deportation
bookishmaggie's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Toxic friendship, Torture, Racial slurs, War, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Bullying, Child abuse, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Xenophobia, Violence, Blood, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
ell_n'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
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Racism, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
thebankofbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Racism, War, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Torture
bloodbrooxv'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? It's complicated
4.5
I loved this book from the very first page: you can see how much the author cares about the subject, and the way she manages to reconcile and express her love for the academic setting with an honest, raw and unfiltered critic about colonialism is masterful. As in tpw, Kuang addresses these issues in an extremely deep way, without neglecting the most brutal details.
I really liked the characters, even if sometimes I’ve found the co-protagonists a bit flat. Robin, on the other hand, is characterized beautifully. His motivations are clear and evolve naturally during the course of the story, and its inner change is as inevitable as necessary.
I especially loved the second half of the book, mainly because I think that the first half has some pacing issues. Probably the only narrative choice I didn’t appreciate was the way the author used footnotes: they contained very interesting information, but in my opinion they were far too fundamental for the complete understanding of the story, and they compromised the flow of the story.
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Death, Racism, Violence, Sexism, Racial slurs, Blood, Torture, and Child abuse
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Slavery, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Religious bigotry
Representation: chinese mmc, black fmc, indian mmcrnbhargava'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Xenophobia, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Violence, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Stalking, War, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Confinement, Death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Rape, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
All the themes said to be triggers are present, particularly the race and religion ones. There’s a scene where it appears that female characters could hypothetically be assaulted. The racism and discrimination on religion angles are throughout the book. The major theme of the book is reconciling existing within educational institutions in the west while the same people you’re learning from are harming your original homelands, whether you remember them or not, and the moral plus political repercussions of that.kitabtroverted's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Xenophobia, Gun violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Colonisation
lizard800's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.5
Graphic: War, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual assault, and Death
villenview'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? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Racism, and Sexism