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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I’m not sure if this book gave me an existential crisis or I started reading this book because I was having one. Maybe both. But a book has never made me question so many of my own beliefs about so many important topics. I am not really sure exactly what I believe in any more, but that is okay. I will figure that out with time and they will change again.
This book was beautifully written. It was long and slow at points, but it was well worth it to continue reading. I don’t want to spoil anything. All I can say is I highly recommend this book for everyone, but especially those who are questioning anything in their life.
This book was beautifully written. It was long and slow at points, but it was well worth it to continue reading. I don’t want to spoil anything. All I can say is I highly recommend this book for everyone, but especially those who are questioning anything in their life.
I liked the premise of the book more than the execution. A philosophical comparison of Eastern collectivism and Western individualist values from a Chinese author's perspective was interesting, but there isn't enough narrative to support a 600+ page novel.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The tone felt inconsistent, characters were dull, and the mysteries were revealed to the reader in an anticlimactic way. If you're interested in books about communalism or critiques of capitalism, read The Disposessed by Ursula K. LeGuin. If you're interested in the social ramifications of humans leaving earth and colonizing in outerspace, read The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness
Minor: Death of parent, War
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very disappointing read. The author pretends to be deep but all the characters are very plain and their inner monologues and conversations are simple. The descriptions of the landscapes are grandiloquent, long, and boring. Even the action bits, which are few, don´t transmit any emotion.
This book has some of the worst-written female characters I have ever read. Surprisingly, the Martian society is a very old-fashioned patriarchal society where everyone is straight and there are only traditional families (and no, it is not a social critique or a dystopia). Mars in the XXII century feels like the 1950s.
This book has some of the worst-written female characters I have ever read. Surprisingly, the Martian society is a very old-fashioned patriarchal society where everyone is straight and there are only traditional families (and no, it is not a social critique or a dystopia). Mars in the XXII century feels like the 1950s.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this book is simply fine. not good, not bad, just ok. it walks a weird line between space sci fi and social commentary and in the ends it feels like nothing happened??? idk just not my thing
Most definitely one of the best books I'll read this year. It is up there with *The Dispossessed* by Ursula K. Le Guin and *Kalpa Imperial* by Angélica Gorodischer. Ah, so beautifully written and translated, and truly a thoughtful read.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
That took 20 years.
Hao Jingfang is a weird person from what I have seen of her, but she has written a brilliant space opera. I must say I was disappointed that instead of an action-packed sci-fi movie, I got a lot of introspection instead and it's not that I didn't like it.
It was a great exploration of what utopia means and what a loss of faith in the system can ultimately do to the system. What resounded with me most was the realisation that yes, you lose faith in the system and try to be the change, but more often that not, it won't really happen all neat and tied up in a ribbon as it sort of did at the end of Vagabonds.
I feel that at the end of the book there was ample example of both, neat endings and no answers. Overall, I was mostly cross-eyed during huge swathes of the book. Maybe I am not as smart as I think I am.
Hao Jingfang is a weird person from what I have seen of her, but she has written a brilliant space opera. I must say I was disappointed that instead of an action-packed sci-fi movie, I got a lot of introspection instead and it's not that I didn't like it.
It was a great exploration of what utopia means and what a loss of faith in the system can ultimately do to the system. What resounded with me most was the realisation that yes, you lose faith in the system and try to be the change, but more often that not, it won't really happen all neat and tied up in a ribbon as it sort of did at the end of Vagabonds.
I feel that at the end of the book there was ample example of both, neat endings and no answers. Overall, I was mostly cross-eyed during huge swathes of the book. Maybe I am not as smart as I think I am.