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babyseagull's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation and Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Genocide and Torture
notthatcosta's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I tend to struggle with first person narration at the best of times, but when it's this indulgent, tangiential and scattered as this it became a slog to try and follow the plot. With a story as expansive, there were also a lot of characters (many having multiple names) which also made it hard to know which threads to pay attention to. Even our narrator often switched how he referred to himself...
While I would say Gabriel García Márquez's 100 Years of Solitude is a far better execution of a similar story (and even provided a graphic to help you follow the family tree), I really enjoyed book 2 because of its focus on the family and its dysfunction, which is always a winner for me in a novel. When it was meandering preamble about ancestors who you don't get much time with or our antihero being kind of awful, I was less invested.
On the positive side, it has a great premise and most of the plot is pretty riveting despite the execution being spotty. I can see why it's so beloved, because it's a remarkable work of fiction despite my critiques.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, Classism, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Incest, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Body horror, Pregnancy, Racism, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
travisppe'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
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Bullying, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Alcohol, Animal death, Police brutality, Sexism, Classism, Deportation, Infertility, Violence, Alcoholism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Torture, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Grief
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, Animal death, Colonisation, Incest, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Torture, Infidelity, and Body horror