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book_busy's review against another edition
3.0
This is a bizarre book in the sense that it is so ginormous that the rating I apply must straddle all 3 books within it.
My individual star rating is as follows:
Book one = 4/5
Book two = 3/5
Book three=2.5/5
I felt this novel was altogether too long and whilst its concept was interesting I felt it wasn't dynamic enough or perhaps as conceptually neat enough to feel all that satisfying, unfortunately. It's still a rather lovely thing in its individual pieces and has many an important message within its pages but I feel like this could have been hacked down further or that the protagonists could have grabbed you by the throat more. Maybe I'm wrong and I just wasn't paying enough attention but this one was a swing and a semi-miss for me.
My individual star rating is as follows:
Book one = 4/5
Book two = 3/5
Book three=2.5/5
I felt this novel was altogether too long and whilst its concept was interesting I felt it wasn't dynamic enough or perhaps as conceptually neat enough to feel all that satisfying, unfortunately. It's still a rather lovely thing in its individual pieces and has many an important message within its pages but I feel like this could have been hacked down further or that the protagonists could have grabbed you by the throat more. Maybe I'm wrong and I just wasn't paying enough attention but this one was a swing and a semi-miss for me.
lorenzadlung's review against another edition
3.0
Interessante Geschichte; allerdings mit bekannten Längen, vor allem im Mittelteil.
juliasjodin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
rubyreadswidely's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
the_eggelstone's review against another edition
3.0
Very hard to rate this book, as it is essentially three books in one. While I absolutely loved Book 1, a sort of Queer ‚The Gilded Age‘ in an alternate America of the 1890s, Book 2 is split in two storylines between a young Hawaiian who lives with his much older partner in New York during the Aids Pandemic in the 1990s and his childhood past in Hawaii, with a complicated relationship with his father.
By then we‘re halfway through the solid 700 pager and these two ‚novellas‘ were beautifully written and kept me engaged. However, I lost all interest and engagement with this book in Book 3, about the survivor of a post-pandemic world and her relationship with an estranged husband. I got so bored that I read a few other novels in-between, and it took me forever to finish this.
The connection between the three Books is also very slim and random (apart from repeated names, places and certain tropes…) but there is no overall connection to be found.
I would rate book 1 with 5 stars, book 2 with 3.5 and book 3 with 2 stars.
I loved the beginning but everything else later on fell flat and left me uninspired. Expected definitely more.
Would I recommend this to a friend? Probably not.
By then we‘re halfway through the solid 700 pager and these two ‚novellas‘ were beautifully written and kept me engaged. However, I lost all interest and engagement with this book in Book 3, about the survivor of a post-pandemic world and her relationship with an estranged husband. I got so bored that I read a few other novels in-between, and it took me forever to finish this.
The connection between the three Books is also very slim and random (apart from repeated names, places and certain tropes…) but there is no overall connection to be found.
I would rate book 1 with 5 stars, book 2 with 3.5 and book 3 with 2 stars.
I loved the beginning but everything else later on fell flat and left me uninspired. Expected definitely more.
Would I recommend this to a friend? Probably not.
_meganwatts's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
alec_armitage's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
theevester's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0