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erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The story is that of a person who lives again after dying (what I call "Groundhog life"). As someone who has read and watched quite a few timey-wimey stories this was fairly familiar ground. I noticed information that I had picked up recently from recently reading Catch-22 and Midnight in Chernobyl, and there is at least one reference to Back to the Future.
This is a book that grazes themes of anthropogenic climate change (without dwelling on it) and wonders at what would have happened if the pace of change we have gone through over the last 200 years, had been even faster. It almost hints at the question of whether this is what has happened for us to be in the situation we are now. I'm glad that the cast of characters isn't focused on one part of the world, but rather, spans every continent, with characters from China, Nigeria, the Americas, Russia, various bits of the UK, and all over.
On a personal level, the main character is burdened with living his life with few interpersonal relationships. He floats along aloof of what is going on and suffers many of the same ills as other immortal fantasy characters. It does mean that relationships he develops are sometimes dysfunctional or toxic. He also remembers his own deaths and the horrible things that he has happen to him and has to take a proactive approach to his own self-care for the sake of his mental health.
Interesting book. At times terrible, and at times inspirational, but I feel like if I go into more detail it will spoil things.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Torture, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Mental illness, Infidelity, Death, Suicide, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: War, Stalking, and Rape
Minor: Infertility
sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
So yes. High expectations were there and were not met unfortunately 🥲
Harry August drags on… and on… and on… I really had to pull through the first 50%. It then started picking up a bit and I was hopeful again, before the dragging resumed at 60% 😫
I had to skim through so much of it; it was so unfortunate.
1.5 out of 5 stars for me unfortunately ✨ Sorry!
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Torture
pastlifetragedy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Drug use, Abortion, Confinement, Murder, Physical abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death, Torture, and Suicide
Moderate: Violence, War, Vomit, and Rape
Minor: Bullying and Classism
corriejn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Drug use, Murder, Death, Terminal illness, Stalking, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Gore, Torture, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Genocide, Child abuse, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Gun violence, Child death, Medical content, Alcohol, War, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
chemmerd42's review
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Cursing, and Physical abuse
Minor: Rape
tiredtori's review against another edition
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Torture