Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-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:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
slow-paced
I couldn’t really get into it and it made me hate reading. I HATED the first person perspective and how descriptive it was. Usually I love descriptive books but this was just so weirdly done. We didn’t get any sort of hook to the story which would’ve made me continued reading. Everytime I thought of, looked at or talked about the book my whole body was feeling like ‚UGH‘ and because my ego is so huge and the book LITERALLY defeated my whole being as a person my friends had to convince me of dropping it. So I did. Booooooring
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
I am so taken by Johnson’s investigations of strange in-between spaces and the strange things people do in them. This book was phenomenally weird, winding and wild.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Haunting but beautifully written. I really love how Johnson writes, even if the endings are clear to see from a ways off. She does so well at crafting an eerie atmosphere and it fills you with dread until the last page.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
I have a lot to say about this book in a way I haven't with the others I've read recently. It creates this haunting atmosphere that reminded me of Our Wives Under the Sea and both have magical realism, dark fairytale and characters haunted by an underwater beast. But even though it was clear where this Greek tragedy was going from fairly early on, it had me hooked in the imagery in a way that I haven't felt for a while. The questions of fate, mixing ancient storytelling with modern worries around genetics and health, felt well incorporated. I knew as I was reading that I would want to reread it and feel sure that it'll get even more from it a second time around.
This is worth reading, generally clear and mostly well-written. There weren't any surprises in it, though. It's written in a suspenseful way but, as far as I was concerned, the answers to the questions raised all turned out to be the most obvious ones. The revelations were all so heavily hinted at from early on in the book, that I had no emotional reaction when they were baldly narrated. I kept reading right up to the end in the hopes of twist, but there wasn't really one.
One of the themes is language. The central character, Gretel (who is sometimes, but not always, the narrator), is a lexicographer. She and her mother lived in isolation when she was a child, and partially invented their own language. This was all interesting as far as it went, but I would have liked to have seen it explored further.
There's a greek myth hiding in the weeds of this story (I won't spoiler, but it's clear early on which one it is), and a pinch of magical realism, some interesting stuff about river/canal life, gender, and dementia. The best, most developed aspect, though, is the mother/daughter relationship.
One of the themes is language. The central character, Gretel (who is sometimes, but not always, the narrator), is a lexicographer. She and her mother lived in isolation when she was a child, and partially invented their own language. This was all interesting as far as it went, but I would have liked to have seen it explored further.
There's a greek myth hiding in the weeds of this story (I won't spoiler, but it's clear early on which one it is), and a pinch of magical realism, some interesting stuff about river/canal life, gender, and dementia. The best, most developed aspect, though, is the mother/daughter relationship.