Reviews

This is a great book! The writing and use of varying narrative forms/media was excellent and I appreciated the setting and the themes, especially how art, via theatre and Shakespeare, intertwined with war, politics, and identity. The book started off really strong for me: I was intrigued, immersed, and could feel the tension between the characters. And it does unfold masterfully on the whole.

However, at some point it started to drag a little and I couldn't keep track of all of the characters introduced. This made it hard for me to fully believe or be invested in some of their decisions and actions. To be fair, I was super tired while reading this and also trying to read it super quickly in advanced of the Women's Prize winner announcement. And, although I don't think it necessary, I do wish I had a stronger grasp of the story and characters in Hamlet as that would have enhanced my engagement with the debates and discussions featured in the book.

Current Women's Prize 2024 Fiction Shortlist rankings:

1. Brotherless Night
2. River East, River West
3. Enter Ghost
4. Soldier Sailor
5. Restless Dolly Maunder

Despite being my third ranked book, I see Enter Ghost being a worthy winner of the Women's Prize, more so than River East, River West!

Content Warnings

kate56's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

jbo74's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-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? Yes

4.5

pertiwi6's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

greenfigtree's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

vivalasvaiva's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

glossy's review against another edition

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reflective 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? Yes

3.75

I liked the premise of the book very much and it succeeded in bringing to life the unique setting and the atmosphere. I was involved into characters' stories and social happenings around. What was bothering me for the majority of time was Sonia as a narrator. Her first person perspective was more of a distant omniscient narrator than of a main character who lived through all that. Although she had a deep reflections on her life and relationships, she remained very poised and monotonous, even boring. What added to the structure of the book were parts of text written as play scripts and I really liked that little experiment. All in all, a solid work.

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