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emherland's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Strange and beautiful. In the end I feel like I didn’t really “get” it. There is so much here to unpack in its magical realism and I could hardly get my head around it.
bookslayer's review against another edition
reflective
slow-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? No
3.0
narpus's review against another edition
4.0
Aside from the controversy over this book, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about Palmares! It dragged a bit in the middle but the ending was a great conclusion to a very Toni Morrison-esc novel
medievaljuliana's review against another edition
Wondering if any editing or revisions went into this since clearly no research did or attention to Brazilian history, language, and culture did.
branwynnemay's review against another edition
I was confused at the Spanish used in a Brazilian setting, and looked up an explanation. The author didn’t care to research even a somewhat accurate language, the culture, or really anything about her setting for the story. I wasn’t gripped, and now I don’t care to continue.
samyag's review against another edition
1.0
If this had been a story of slavery in a mythical land it could have been really good. Instead it’s a story of American slavery dropped into a version of Brazil that’s presented as a mythical land with no real history and culture. The author admits to doing little to no research about Brazilian history. Multiple reviews by Brazilians state she uses Spanish words instead of Portuguese and that the “representation” is disrespectful at best.
It definitely doesn’t deserve its spot as a Pulitzer finalist but let’s be real, the publishing industry is a money grab and Jones is well established as a “master”, so I’m not really surprised.
But honestly though, how can we see an author admit to writing historical fiction without any research into the topic and continue to call her a master writer? She and her team should be so embarrassed.
It definitely doesn’t deserve its spot as a Pulitzer finalist but let’s be real, the publishing industry is a money grab and Jones is well established as a “master”, so I’m not really surprised.
But honestly though, how can we see an author admit to writing historical fiction without any research into the topic and continue to call her a master writer? She and her team should be so embarrassed.
ckzinger's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
willtherebesnacks's review against another edition
I’m going to try reading the book instead of listening to the audiobook. I really didn’t like how whiny the person made the narrator sound!
cuartolimon's review against another edition
I kept getting lost, I felt like it wasn’t going anywhere. I do like and am very familiar with magical realism however this book was rather chaotic. I’ll give it another chance later on.