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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Hmmm... I wanted so much to like this. Keanu Reeves seems like a nice guy in a world of bloated egoes and China Mieville has a knack for weird story (and I love his nonfiction most of all). Yet... it took me about halfway to even understand who was who in this book. The story only took off really in the last quarter. Maybe it was the audiobook that made it difficult to follow, maybe I'm just dense. But I felt like these were hours that could have been much better spent. :(
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A real mixed bag. I struggled until around the half-way mark, I think mainly because of the overwrought writing style. The story is great: very cinematic and tense. The supporting characters are diverse and for a load of army people very reflective and interesting, not just faceless, violent grunts. There are some interesting plot developments but it is a little hard to follow, again because of the narrative style, I think. B, or Unute, is a fascinating character and the flashback tales from different POVs were my fave chapters. I am keen to read the graphic novel after this.
I had high expectations about "The Book of Elsewhere" by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville, but it turns out this book is not my cup of tea. It might be yours, who knows? It's not a badly-written book. It's just not a style I enjoy. I couldn't connect to the characters, and the plot kept jumping this way and that, pulling me out of the story right when I was starting to finally get into it.
I usually love genre-bending novels, but this one felt way too philosophical and the pacing was unsettlingly uneven.
I usually love genre-bending novels, but this one felt way too philosophical and the pacing was unsettlingly uneven.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Huh.
I don't know if i liked this or not. I will be thinking about it for the rest of my lives though.
I don't know if i liked this or not. I will be thinking about it for the rest of my lives though.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
medium-paced
Book of Elsewhere is like reading a comic, without the visuals, in novel form - it’s wierd, quirky, disjoint and makes little sense at times. Especially character dialog made little sense at times as there was clearly some internal monologue or thought process going, but the reader is not told about it.
Personally I found the book difficult to read. I was however expecting this as I find China Mieville difficult to read. He has a quirky mind, much similar to Hideo Kojima.
Also not having read the comics, but Reeves’ name drew my attention.
The story develops really slowly and comes to a sudden climax near the end of the book. Like a comic or anime, it leaves you with more question than it answered. None the less, it’s an interesting premise of an immortal who has had enough and wants to be mortal. Mieville does a good job of using fonts and type setting to broach the page and convey feeling.
Would I recommend it - it is very much a book aimed at fans of either author or the comics.
Personally I found the book difficult to read. I was however expecting this as I find China Mieville difficult to read. He has a quirky mind, much similar to Hideo Kojima.
Also not having read the comics, but Reeves’ name drew my attention.
The story develops really slowly and comes to a sudden climax near the end of the book. Like a comic or anime, it leaves you with more question than it answered. None the less, it’s an interesting premise of an immortal who has had enough and wants to be mortal. Mieville does a good job of using fonts and type setting to broach the page and convey feeling.
Would I recommend it - it is very much a book aimed at fans of either author or the comics.