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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
I enjoyed the concept and I feel like this novel could turn out to be worryingly prescient. I think it asks a lot of the right questions RE: memories, moral responsibility and identity. I think the multiple POVs helped flesh it out conceptually but it definitely made the narrative more difficult to follow.
I loved the idea that we could choose to have painful memories erased and I liked that we saw this idea from multiple perspectives but I just felt like the ending wasn't executed well - I was expecting more of a twist with the way it led to that point and I was disappointed.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Interesting premise and loads of philosophical and moral questions to be had, but I don't think they're ones my brain can process at the moment. Will need to rethink this later. Liked most of the stories that were kind of interwoven, though I didn't see the point in Finn's story. It could have been omitted entirely without taking anything away from the book.
Tell Me an Ending has all the ingredients of my favorite recipe: new technology with ethical ramifications, intertwined short stories, and strong characterization. Surprisingly, though, it fell flat for me.
All of the characters struggle with the aftermath of memory removal in some way. A doctor at the memory removal facility wrestles with ethics; a young man wanders the world wondering who he is; a college student feels depressed but can't remember why; a retired policeman can't remember the source of his PTSD; and so on.
The trouble is that the novel builds a mountain of suspense that it can't deliver on. The top-secret things don't feel that nefarious. The twists are mundane. With one exception, the connections between the characters end up not meaning much. The only ending that I felt compelled by was William's. Overall, it felt anticlimactic.
All of the characters struggle with the aftermath of memory removal in some way. A doctor at the memory removal facility wrestles with ethics; a young man wanders the world wondering who he is; a college student feels depressed but can't remember why; a retired policeman can't remember the source of his PTSD; and so on.
The trouble is that the novel builds a mountain of suspense that it can't deliver on. The top-secret things don't feel that nefarious. The twists are mundane. With one exception, the connections between the characters end up not meaning much. The only ending that I felt compelled by was William's. Overall, it felt anticlimactic.
I personally don’t like the one-character-per-chapter format.
Good concept, okay execution. I liked some of the themes that were explored but really didn't care much for the characters so it felt like a bit of a drag sometimes.