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samugranjo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Classism, Murder, Grief, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Toxic friendship, War, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Sexism
Minor: Confinement, Alcohol, Blood, Addiction, and Genocide
julbel'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
4.5
Would not recommend to read as a student going through exams because those school days sections are *real*.
Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, War, Slavery, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Grief, Violence, Torture, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
mjverrall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War
emlibe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Violence, Trafficking, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism, Death of parent, and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
bilal_shumuus'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: Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, Self harm, Torture, Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Classism, Infidelity, Death, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, Abandonment, Addiction, Islamophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mirandyli'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Slavery, Alcohol, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Colonisation, Murder, Suicide, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Racism, Torture, and War
bookwyrmdancer's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Colonisation, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
justmys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Kuang’s level of intelligence and brilliance surrounding etymology and translation and her immense skill at bringing issues that are still horrifyingly prevalent in the world to the forefront of the story through a powerful lens were a true gift to read and will be staying with me for a long time to come.
And that’s where my 2.75 stars go. That side of this novel was an astounding piece of work. Unfortunately, the rest of the book had to be consumed alongside it.
I was told that the beginning of this book is slow. For me, the beginning ended up being the first 328 pages. And this is a heavy read to begin with.
I found all of the characters within the book shallow and underdeveloped. So much of their lives and interactions were glossed over. Flashbacks or explanations for their behaviour and decisions were often sewn into the book through footnotes giving them the feeling of an afterthought. I spent the entire time wishing this book would have been at least a duology so as to have given room for us to actually get to know the characters as people, and not just awkward stunted players in a black box theatre production.
The main female characters, Victoire and Letty, were often left T-posing in the corner of scenes, utterly forgotten in place of their male counterparts. When they were used (which was woefully little) they either felt like the author didn’t know their character (as with Victoire) or were an absurd cartoonish creation (as with Letty).
Despite the overall themes being interesting I did feel like I was being smacked over the head with the book at times whilst being asked, “Do you get it? Do you understand? Do you even comprehend yet?” which got exhausting because I don’t think I’m as stupid as this book thinks I am.
This book would have been so much more interesting if the lectures had been edited down somewhat in order to give room for character exploration. I’m certain the characters could have been truly loveable if they had been allowed to exist outside of a 2D space. I said to friends that this book had scope to be up there with Six of Crows or Lies of Locke Lamora if only the characters that inhabited the world were given the same love and detail as the world was.
I do want to give this author another chance so will likely read more of her work in the future. There were so many moments where I was sure I could have fallen in love with her writing if only given more to work with.
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Racism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, and Torture
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Addiction, Deportation, Gun violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
confused_cat's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
- First, I love the concept, I was so excited when I started the book. This book is well written, researched and the author captured the feeling of being marginalised very well.
- The author spent a long time on world-building, discussions about language, and the silver working ( “silver+translation = magic” ). This book is great if you are into etymology. For me personally, these parts are way too long and hard to read.
- I am into plot and characters, so I was bored for quite a good portion of the book. When there is plot, the pacing is so quick, too quick even. E.g.
death of Prof. Lovell . The first half of the book felt so slow for me - I was so happy when Robin wasshot … I thought, here comes the action.. but then they all went back to school and it was back to language discussion for a few chapters again. - There was not enough time spent on characters at all. We were told that Robin, Ramy, Victoire, and Letty are best friends but we were not shown their daily life and interactions. Most of their interactions were mostly for author to showcase racism, how bad colonialism was, and how clueless Letty (the representative of white women) was towards her friends plights.
- There are just so many things that could be expanded.
How could Robin turned to Hermes so easily at the beginning? How Letty betrayed everyone so quickly? What's going through Lovell's mind most of the time? Are Ramy and Robin queer? The ending chapters were so quick too. I wanted to read more about character's internal conflicts more, dammit. - I am still not sure what the author's intention of the book. Who is this book written for? What does the author want to say? Does she want to remind us how bad colonialism was? How countries (esp China) have dealt with so much injustice? That violence is necessary for change?
- As a mixed race person, the racism felt too close to home and very uncomfortable to read too.
I can see why this book is so popular. But it is just not for me.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Colonisation, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
Minor: Abandonment
kitkatmacattack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Genocide, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Racism, Grief, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Classism, and Death