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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this book was a journey laden with sorrow and the horrors of war. yet beautiful at times. the two different timelines worked well, the current/future point of view worked nicely as a frame for the past. endlessly interesting and intelligent.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Memory is like patches of sunlight in an overcast valley, shifting with the movement of the clouds. Now and then the light will fall on a particular point in time, illuminating it for a moment before the wind seals up the gap, and the world is in shadows again.”
I found out about this book and picked it up because it was a part of the unseen extracts I was given for my university entrance exam and I fell in love with it. There is something about Eng's way of writing, a translucent quality that just flows quietly, with the quality of a drizzle on a foggy morning. It reminds me of the temporary quality of time, of how everything fades away, of how time simply goes and passes and doesn't wait for anyone else, of how our memory leaves us eventually. It's a beautifully intricate book touching on very important global issues, and yet have managed to keep it human and personal.
I found out about this book and picked it up because it was a part of the unseen extracts I was given for my university entrance exam and I fell in love with it. There is something about Eng's way of writing, a translucent quality that just flows quietly, with the quality of a drizzle on a foggy morning. It reminds me of the temporary quality of time, of how everything fades away, of how time simply goes and passes and doesn't wait for anyone else, of how our memory leaves us eventually. It's a beautifully intricate book touching on very important global issues, and yet have managed to keep it human and personal.
(malaysia)
Hypnotic. I listened to the World Book Club interview with Tan Twan Eng and found him so charming I had to read the book. It didn't disappoint. Follows a young woman trying to make sense of the horrors she suffered in the aftermath of the Second World War. The events that unfolded in the Pacific region often get overlooked in fiction; this was a hard read in terms of subject matter, but easy to fall into.
Hypnotic. I listened to the World Book Club interview with Tan Twan Eng and found him so charming I had to read the book. It didn't disappoint. Follows a young woman trying to make sense of the horrors she suffered in the aftermath of the Second World War. The events that unfolded in the Pacific region often get overlooked in fiction; this was a hard read in terms of subject matter, but easy to fall into.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Are all of us the same, I wonder, navigating our lives by interpreting the silences between words spoken, analysing the returning echoes of our memory in order to chart the terrain, in order to make sense of the world around us?”
This is a beautiful and complex story exploring one woman’s experience in a Japanese POW camp and her life after, and how her sisters life is interwoven to hers.
Despite being possibly the most challenging work of fiction I have ever read and got a little frustrated in the first half due to the narrative being difficult to follow, it is so worth sticking it out as the final third is phenomenal. A very unusual and thought provoking novel.
This is a beautiful and complex story exploring one woman’s experience in a Japanese POW camp and her life after, and how her sisters life is interwoven to hers.
Despite being possibly the most challenging work of fiction I have ever read and got a little frustrated in the first half due to the narrative being difficult to follow, it is so worth sticking it out as the final third is phenomenal. A very unusual and thought provoking novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Torture, Abortion, Murder
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced