Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Certainly hits different after 2020
Justice for Mei
First off: I am still in love with the prose and the storytelling and the overall atmosphere of this novel, but as of reaching the end, I'm less enchanted than I was at the start.
I was shocked to pause around chapter seven or eight and check the publication date of this novel only to find that it came in early 2019. Holy premonitory fiction, batman. The author nailed the suffocating boredom of 2020 pandemic quarantine and isolation with terrifying precision, both at the beginning with the students in the dorm and later as she described a small community beginning to burst at the seams of cordon, and she hadn’t even really seen it yet. I really wish I could’ve read this book right when it came out in 2019 so that I could experience the story as it was written, untainted by the experience of COVID-19.
The actual pandemic experience aside, I loved the way this story wormed and twisted its way into those corners that don't ordinarily see the light: the way illness uncovers the things we otherwise strive to keep hidden, and the way it spreads along the threads of love and kindness and best intentions. The prose is delicious. The narration is simultaneously immensely concerned with minutiae and strangely detached from the overall experience, which, again, feels incredibly fitting and made for a very satisfying read. This was like a little self-led EMDR session. The detachment had me less intensely invested in each individual character and more into Santa Lora as an overall community, which I'm sure Matthew would love to hear me say even though I find him utterly insufferable. I'm just going to say it: he exemplifies the worst kind of constantly-thought-exercising- there is. Moving on...
And now we know: yes, the mail still gets delivered - albeit a bit behind schedule - even when we're living through what might be the start of the end of the world.
A beautifully written book with an ending that I found somewhat disappointing, but not enough to undo the satisfying itch-scratching of the rest of the journey up to that point.
I was shocked to pause around chapter seven or eight and check the publication date of this novel only to find that it came in early 2019. Holy premonitory fiction, batman. The author nailed the suffocating boredom of 2020 pandemic quarantine and isolation with terrifying precision, both at the beginning with the students in the dorm and later as she described a small community beginning to burst at the seams of cordon, and she hadn’t even really seen it yet. I really wish I could’ve read this book right when it came out in 2019 so that I could experience the story as it was written, untainted by the experience of COVID-19.
The actual pandemic experience aside, I loved the way this story wormed and twisted its way into those corners that don't ordinarily see the light: the way illness uncovers the things we otherwise strive to keep hidden, and the way it spreads along the threads of love and kindness and best intentions. The prose is delicious. The narration is simultaneously immensely concerned with minutiae and strangely detached from the overall experience, which, again, feels incredibly fitting and made for a very satisfying read. This was like a little self-led EMDR session. The detachment had me less intensely invested in each individual character and more into Santa Lora as an overall community, which I'm sure Matthew would love to hear me say even though I find him utterly insufferable. I'm just going to say it: he exemplifies the worst kind of constantly-thought-exercising-
Spoiler
trust-fund-baby“This town, these neighbors walking their dogs on the streets–this does not look like a place where a plague is right now unfolding. You can draw a lot of comfort from the normalcy of others – if this thing were really spreading, would the neighbors be raking their lawns? Would the mailman be delivering catalogs?”
And now we know: yes, the mail still gets delivered - albeit a bit behind schedule - even when we're living through what might be the start of the end of the world.
A beautifully written book with an ending that I found somewhat disappointing, but not enough to undo the satisfying itch-scratching of the rest of the journey up to that point.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
No
Re-read in a time of COVID: terrifying. Still think I enjoyed the book more the second time around - I was less invested in the individual character outcomes and could enjoy the overall story and the writing style more.
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m a little divided on how I feel about this book. The dreamy narrative made me feel disconnected from the characters, so it that sense I didn’t feel too invested in the outcome. Only mildly curious as to how it would all turn out.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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:
N/A
when a sickness of perpetual sleep takes over a small town it leaves everyone questioning what it was and why it was happening. The sleepers were experiencing extraordinary life altering dreams too.
considering this was written in 2019 there were some uncomfortable parallels with COVID in 2020.
An interesting book which I enjoyed and would recommend if you are okay with pandemic type themes.
considering this was written in 2019 there were some uncomfortable parallels with COVID in 2020.
An interesting book which I enjoyed and would recommend if you are okay with pandemic type themes.
