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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
This book and I just weren't getting along. The main character is some how insufferable and bland at the same time. And the pacing is so incredibly slow.
If you have read it and think it's worth the slog, let me know! I'd love to know what it is I'm missing with this book!
If you have read it and think it's worth the slog, let me know! I'd love to know what it is I'm missing with this book!
Um, obsessed?
I also read this while volunteering in the French countryside between Marseille and Toulouse. I listened to part of it on audiobook (read by the author) and read part of it on my phone, toggling back and forth. I listened to the audio on long walks on country roads bordering farming fields and fields full of sunflowers. It was...kind of perfect? And this protagonist was so fascinating to read -- I kept toggling between disdain and pity and even sometimes envy (which isn't great).
Loved it.
I also read this while volunteering in the French countryside between Marseille and Toulouse. I listened to part of it on audiobook (read by the author) and read part of it on my phone, toggling back and forth. I listened to the audio on long walks on country roads bordering farming fields and fields full of sunflowers. It was...kind of perfect? And this protagonist was so fascinating to read -- I kept toggling between disdain and pity and even sometimes envy (which isn't great).
Loved it.
Mesmerizing, darkly funny, breaks my 'must have one character I'd meet for lunch' rule of fiction, but I loved it anyway. I take it back. I'd have lunch with Bruno, ...but not in the cave.
I enjoyed this for the philosophy and history lessons (the Cagots !? insane piece of history !) but less so for the actual plot...
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Entertaining, discursive, original.
What was the point of this?
Insufferable main character. Incomprehensible themes.
Insufferable main character. Incomprehensible themes.
2024 Booker long list must’ve been especially long this year
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes