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skyturtles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
This was weird. This is my 9th Winterson book, so you'd think I'd be used to it by now. She does her usual gender-defying and genre-defying, like layering historical fiction with A.I. research, adding in a dash of gothic romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Transphobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death
riledupryepie's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Missing the final 0.5 only because it simply cannot do everything - Winterson really tries though! This book is the definition of layered, and any Mary Shelley fan will enjoy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Medical content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Body horror
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape
jaina8851's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This is such a difficult book to give a star rating to.
I LOVED the parts set in the past. The Mary Shelley POV bits were gorgeously rendered, her pain and grief seared through the poetic writing and I could have read an entire novel just about that.
The present/futuristic bits were so incredibly hit or miss. All of the characters felt more like a blend of caricature and vaguely archetype rather than having their own developed personalities (which, makes sense I guess, since all of them share names with either people in Mary Shelley's life or book). This particularly made the other POV character of Ry a bit fraught. He was an incredibly passive narrator, to the point that I even commented in my reading journal at one point "this whole section is written in first person plural, but literally nothing here has been addressed to Ry and he's said no dialogue, is he even present??" The choice to make him trans was inexpertly handled in my opinion. I think the idea of comparing being transgender with transhumanism could be interesting, but that the whole book could have benefited from having a sensitivity reader or two, because even as a cis reader, there were aspects of it that just threw me out of the book.
All in all though, I found this a really interesting book. I read this back-to-back with my first ever read of Frankenstein, so it was REALLY cool to have the source material be so fresh. The interview at the end was *fascinating* as well. Just a lot of thought provoking stuff about the meaning of humanity, intelligence. AND LOOMS.
I LOVED the parts set in the past. The Mary Shelley POV bits were gorgeously rendered, her pain and grief seared through the poetic writing and I could have read an entire novel just about that.
The present/futuristic bits were so incredibly hit or miss. All of the characters felt more like a blend of caricature and vaguely archetype rather than having their own developed personalities (which, makes sense I guess, since all of them share names with either people in Mary Shelley's life or book). This particularly made the other POV character of Ry a bit fraught. He was an incredibly passive narrator, to the point that I even commented in my reading journal at one point "this whole section is written in first person plural, but literally nothing here has been addressed to Ry and he's said no dialogue, is he even present??" The choice to make him trans was inexpertly handled in my opinion. I think the idea of comparing being transgender with transhumanism could be interesting, but that the whole book could have benefited from having a sensitivity reader or two, because even as a cis reader, there were aspects of it that just threw me out of the book.
All in all though, I found this a really interesting book. I read this back-to-back with my first ever read of Frankenstein, so it was REALLY cool to have the source material be so fresh. The interview at the end was *fascinating* as well. Just a lot of thought provoking stuff about the meaning of humanity, intelligence. AND LOOMS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
katarina_kirishiki's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
rosekent's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Transphobia
seaform22's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
natalee_martino's review against another edition
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Rape
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Deadnaming
stegosoren's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Rape