Reviews

Usually Emma Donoghue is a winner for me, but I didn't think this was her strongest - a 'slice of life' story of 7th Century monks, it didn't have enough plot to carry it to a higher star rating.

aj4field's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

annak7's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

lmglsn's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

malyndakouperman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

ahomelibrary's review against another edition

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2.0

This was admittedly a very difficult book to engage with. Having name recognition + an interesting and unique summary, this book seemed like a worthy challenge. I think that where it fell short for me was an insurmountable lack of interest in the characters and plot. I don’t think that I’d suggest this story to a general audience. However, it is a unique and interesting historical fiction from a region and time period that I don’t often engage with so I appreciate this. Thanks to the publisher for a copy to review.

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