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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really liked the heart of this book, but I think the writing was too pretentious for my personal taste. There were just too many moments where it felt like cringey college open mic storytelling performance. The story leads readers to draw broader conclusions about things like the opioid epidemic, vuong could have edited down and been more impactful imho.
no words for this other than extremely important & raw & beautiful. devoured every single word in this one. ripped my heart out and sailed all the way to my top rankings for sureeee
emotional
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Second time around reading it and maybe the prose didn't strike me as revolutionary as it used to but wow some parts hit so much harder
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I quite enjoyed the book; the author writes in beautiful prose that draws you into a hazy dreamscape that is constantly on the verge of becoming a nightmare.
I felt some parts dragged on—for the sake of including quotable lines—and could have been more concise to better grip the reader. On a few occasions, I was asking myself where this was going and counting down to the end of the chapter.
I wish there was a little more expansion about the maternal figures at the end, but I am still somewhat satisfied with how the book concluded.
I felt some parts dragged on—for the sake of including quotable lines—and could have been more concise to better grip the reader. On a few occasions, I was asking myself where this was going and counting down to the end of the chapter.
I wish there was a little more expansion about the maternal figures at the end, but I am still somewhat satisfied with how the book concluded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, War
Moderate: Domestic abuse
It’s been some time since a novel has brought me to tears like this one did — gracefully and intimately covers a myriad of really difficult conversations with beautiful prose.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character