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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The premise of the book hooked me in and I thought I was in for a fun ride. I loved loved loved Atonnement by the same author so I really thought this short book would be a slam dunk. I thought wrong. Let's get the positive out of the way first because there's a lot of negative. The prose in this book was beautiful. It's a well written book by a good author. HOWEVER. Certain details jumped out to me and just felt weird. What is this baby's obsession with his mother's physique? The author insistence on sexualising the mum from the point of view of the baby honestly felt grotesque and gratuious. No baby is describing their mum's breast the same way a horny 40 year old would. Also, the attempt at reflection on the state of the world felt superficial and just lost. It read more like an old man who doesn't seem to understand the age he's living him rather than a baby. It read like Ian Mcewan's actual feelings envelopped thorugh the words of his character.
And what was up with the weird jibs at Islam and 'identities'? The patronizing tone the 'baby' took whenever he mentionned Islam or gender fluidity honestly made my eye roll. This book is the perfect illustration of great idea, bad execution. The only stars it"s getting is truly due to the prose.
And what was up with the weird jibs at Islam and 'identities'? The patronizing tone the 'baby' took whenever he mentionned Islam or gender fluidity honestly made my eye roll. This book is the perfect illustration of great idea, bad execution. The only stars it"s getting is truly due to the prose.
challenging
dark
fast-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
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-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
funny
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.5 stars. This story was equal parts interesting and creepy. I thought the plot of the story was good, but the narrator was just too odd for me.
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The narrator of this story is an almost-full-term fetus, who is trying to make sense out of his world as his mother and her lover (who is also her brother-in-law) plot how to continue their relationship. Interesting to think about how one makes sense of what they have not actually seen/experienced.
I could not belive the vocabulary of a literal fetus protagonist. DNF at 70% and googled the end.
I loved the concept of this, but I personally found the story was too slow moving. I found there were far too many pages for nothing to be happening and the plot was very confusing, all in all.
reflective
tense
slow-paced