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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this was well written but I couldn't help thinking that Douglas Coupland's book Girlfriend in a coma was better and that was published in 1998.
Struggling with how to explain what I love about this book although it’s 100% in my wheelhouse. I can throw all the buzzy buzzwords at it - lyrical, dreamy, wistful, melancholy - without really saying anything.
You know those scenes in movies where the character jumps/falls/is submerged into water and it goes slo-mo with the clanking underwater sounds and giant air bubbles slowly rising through curling tendrils of hair while the character looks out with wide eyes? It’s like that.
It’s character driven, but more like the exploration of a specific emotional response as experienced by a group of characters enduring a shared experience.
Maybe none of that makes sense and should be summed as this:
Wow, do I dig her style.
You know those scenes in movies where the character jumps/falls/is submerged into water and it goes slo-mo with the clanking underwater sounds and giant air bubbles slowly rising through curling tendrils of hair while the character looks out with wide eyes? It’s like that.
It’s character driven, but more like the exploration of a specific emotional response as experienced by a group of characters enduring a shared experience.
Maybe none of that makes sense and should be summed as this:
Wow, do I dig her style.
An opportunity to see many levels of society in a town that is struck with an unknown virus that causes victims to sleep continuously. Walker takes the reader into the thoughts of the dreamers as well as their families and friends. Lush lyrical language, much to ponder, a favorite of the year.
reflective
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
Never really got into it. Could have been so much more. This is a different type of book than I usually read and I guess it's not for me.
The mystery is intriguing, but that's about all it has going for it. The characters are kept at a far off distance making it difficult to connect with any of them - save for Mei whose storyline ended in a way I wasn't wild about.
Walker's narrative style is hypnotic, which proves a perfect match for her subject. She uses multiple characters to present a catastrophic event (an outbreak of a contagious virus that causes it's victims to fall into a seemingly endless sleep) from a microscopic viewpoint. I found I connected with the characters slowly and deeply. The horror crept up on me and caught me by surprise about halfway through the book.
A beautiful read
This book was so beautifully written and so thoughtful. I ate it up in just a couple of days. I found it to be much more hopeful than Age of Miracles, which had such a sad ending (for me) that I was afraid to read this book. So glad that I did. Worth every moment.
This book was so beautifully written and so thoughtful. I ate it up in just a couple of days. I found it to be much more hopeful than Age of Miracles, which had such a sad ending (for me) that I was afraid to read this book. So glad that I did. Worth every moment.
one of my goals for this year was to read more books with lower ratings, considering most of the books i pick up are popular ones and i rarely enjoy them.
after reading this, i'm sure it'll be a goal i stick to. this was incredible. i've never been a person to like stories told in multiple points of view but i thoroughly enjoyed myself. i do wish that some situations ended differently but i also accept how everything turned out - negative or positive. truly a great read to start of 2021.
after reading this, i'm sure it'll be a goal i stick to. this was incredible. i've never been a person to like stories told in multiple points of view but i thoroughly enjoyed myself. i do wish that some situations ended differently but i also accept how everything turned out - negative or positive. truly a great read to start of 2021.