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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly kept me up at night wondering about the conflicts nested within conflicts. Expect a slow burn and an unreliable, unlikable narrator who goes on a journey examining her commitments and assumptions.
The philosophical differences between Bruno and Jean, the conflicts at Le Moulin, and the tension of the narrator’s mission kept me turning pages. I found these conflicts to be more engaging than the prose itself, for the most part, and I found myself, like the narrator, itching to know more about the mysterious Bruno Lacombe.
Ultimately the novel’s ending feels a little anticlimactic but as I have sat with it, I think it highlights the author’s cynicism about the Moulinards’ philosophy and methods. This reads like a political thriller but ultimately it is not about power — it’s about how individuals find their place in a complex society and their understanding of the long arc of history.
The philosophical differences between Bruno and Jean, the conflicts at Le Moulin, and the tension of the narrator’s mission kept me turning pages. I found these conflicts to be more engaging than the prose itself, for the most part, and I found myself, like the narrator, itching to know more about the mysterious Bruno Lacombe.
Ultimately the novel’s ending feels a little anticlimactic but as I have sat with it, I think it highlights the author’s cynicism about the Moulinards’ philosophy and methods. This reads like a political thriller but ultimately it is not about power — it’s about how individuals find their place in a complex society and their understanding of the long arc of history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
The long shadow of 1968 is all over this book, and life in the French Resistance during WWII also makes an appearance.
dense and kind of boring. i'm interested in the concept but the execution isnt hitting for me
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really loved aspects of this story, especially the meandering ruminations on anthropology, and the offsides portraits of minor characters, but it culminated into… nothing. The ending felt rushed and anticlimactic, and I think the last page was supposed to be profound, but it was a reference to some earlier aside in the book that I barely remembered, so it fell completely flat. It felt like a disservice to a complicated main character that I enjoyed getting to know.
Might try this again with the actual book, audio was too hard for me to follow
mysterious
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was an interesting plot point of an undercover agent infiltrating an extremist environmental group in the hopes of sabotage. But to call it a 'thriller,' even a literary one, is something of a joke. The book would benefit from being about two hundred pages shorter, or basically cut in half. There are interesting points made and there are real moments of tension and emotion. However, there is just so much philosophizing about Neanderthals and early man and stars and sea expeditions that at times it is all a slog. I feel like it took real effort to get through the first 300 pages, and then I flew through the last 100, so editing down really would have helped.
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Stellar spy noir with a sly narrative and keen and cold insights into the world
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes