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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
sad
slow-paced
This book druggggg on. It was okay but also like Little Women but Africa and not as good? Honestly just really sad.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a long book. Like, I get why it was long, but it was just SO LONG. I feel like some things could have maybe been sped up, especially at the beginning. Like the beginning was so slow, and then the end was so fast, which I didn't mind at all. I think the reason I thought the beginning was so slow was because the message that Kingslover was trying to get across was extremely explicit to me. Therefore, I felt that she kept drilling at a point she already made, making it a bit repetitive and boring.
I had to read this for my summer reading assignment for my AP lit class, so maybe that's why I am so negative about the book. Like maybe the fact that I had to read this book made me not really like it already.
I did like how you can see the development of each of the daughters and also Orleanna. Maybe that was one of the upsides of the longer book format. I liked how through the chapters, my feelings toward each of the daughters shifted. For example, I didn't really like Leah that much, then I began to feel sorry for her, and then she became my favorite, and then she started to piss me off again, and then in the end I was happy for her. I liked to see Adah's growth the most. I think in the end, she was my favorite. I also loved to see Adah's and Leah's relationship. Their lives were opposite and parallel at the same time, and I loved how Kingslover made a yin-yang sort of thing.
I think the book only really got better after the climax of the story occurred. After that, it was a downward slide to read.
Even though I said all these bad things about the book, I still was able to enjoy some of it. I loved Ruth May's section and Adah's lyrical writing, Leah's relatability, and Orleanna's strive to be a good mother. Moreover, I liked how Kingsolver handled Nathan and how she was able to show the hypocrisy of what he did. Another thing that I thought she did extremely well was how she incorporated side characters. She didn't make them seem like side characters at all, but rather people who had a past, present, and future. She made everyone in the story feel real.
I had to read this for my summer reading assignment for my AP lit class, so maybe that's why I am so negative about the book. Like maybe the fact that I had to read this book made me not really like it already.
I did like how you can see the development of each of the daughters and also Orleanna. Maybe that was one of the upsides of the longer book format. I liked how through the chapters, my feelings toward each of the daughters shifted. For example, I didn't really like Leah that much, then I began to feel sorry for her, and then she became my favorite, and then she started to piss me off again, and then in the end I was happy for her. I liked to see Adah's growth the most. I think in the end, she was my favorite. I also loved to see Adah's and Leah's relationship. Their lives were opposite and parallel at the same time, and I loved how Kingslover made a yin-yang sort of thing.
I think the book only really got better after the climax of the story occurred. After that, it was a downward slide to read.
Even though I said all these bad things about the book, I still was able to enjoy some of it. I loved Ruth May's section and Adah's lyrical writing, Leah's relatability, and Orleanna's strive to be a good mother. Moreover, I liked how Kingsolver handled Nathan and how she was able to show the hypocrisy of what he did. Another thing that I thought she did extremely well was how she incorporated side characters. She didn't make them seem like side characters at all, but rather people who had a past, present, and future. She made everyone in the story feel real.
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
I think this might be the best book I've read so far or at least on par with classics I loved. This was challenging to read for me, as a non native English speaker and I loved it for it. The prose was lovely, deeply touching, emotional. At times very funny. At times terribly sad, devastating. I loved it to the fullest. It also made me want to read about all sorts of things, from the "discovery" of okapi, to the Belgian history to recipes from Congo. The writer takes you on a trip through places you never knew about, it's incredible. Recommend wholeheartedly!
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Favorite book by far. Kingsolver is a master storyteller, expressing the world from the perspective of a mother and her 3 daughters in the Congo. Dramatic and heartwarming.
A masterclass. Goddamn.
And now I guess I have to read The Hours, because how could anything possibly win the Pulitzer over this?!
And now I guess I have to read The Hours, because how could anything possibly win the Pulitzer over this?!
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes