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mscalls's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Murder, Dementia, Chronic illness, and Sexual content
gena10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness and Death
cryptofauna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
badly paced, no cohesive plot line or honestly any plot to begin with. had a few interesting moments in a couple of the short stories but it jumps around far too much to actually get properly aquatinted with some of the characters. (like i loved mary and alice because they were the most robust and had more time than anyone else to flesh out and have a compelling story i feel like)
i really don’t mind a book in this sort of format (one of my fav books of all time greenwoods is like this) but i feel like this did not do the multigenerational independent yet slightly connected stories well at all.
honestly should have dnfed it but i was really hoping it would get better or have some kind of ending that tied it all up. it felt like there was supposed to be come deep meaning that i clearly missed
had high hopes for this one and i don’t understand why everyone else in these reviews is obsessed with it
Moderate: Death and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
wordswithjustine's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual content, Dementia, and Gore
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Confinement, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide attempt
mammut's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Murder, Ableism, Car accident, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Violence
town_scar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This novel is a true masterpiece. A combination of prose and poetry that embodies naturalism and spiritualism at its core.
Perhaps my only gripe is that I wish there had been a greater focus on non-White individuals. The main owners of the house are all white (with a single brief exception) and while the original inhabitants of the land are acknowledged they are not given a voice.
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Death, Homophobia, Outing, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Blood, Car accident, Violence, Slavery, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cancer
rednikki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
But Mason only tells the story through the white people who have lived (or in one case, visited) there. Excluding people of color from point of view was clearly a decision Mason made. The first time we encounter the place, it is through the eyes of some of the first white settlers of the US; we never see it through the eyes of the historical people of the land. There is one section where there is a person of color living in the place, and Mason chooses to tell the story through the point of view of a white visitor instead.
Rutherford's books also usually have at least some time points where there is hope and happiness. In Mason's world, there is only misery, tragedy and despair. Sometimes it's just an undercurrent, sometimes it is overwhelming – but whenever his characters experience joy they are punished for it.
Do not recommend.
Graphic: Slavery, Kidnapping, Animal death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Death
ashleyjean6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Car accident, Child death, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Dementia, Murder, Slavery, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
sjanke2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Confinement, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Car accident, Death, Outing, Medical content, and Slavery