Scan barcode
A review by squids_can_read
The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Sibylla doesn't know what to do with her son Ludo. He's an incredibly intelligent boy who has no father figure. How is Sibylla supposed to balance raising Ludo and working a dead-end job? And how is Ludo supposed to find a father figure?
The characters in this book were really sweet. I loved the way that Sibylla and Ludo were characterized. They felt like extremely intelligent people who were stuck in their circumstances. The rest of the background characters were interesting but it felt like they only existed to further Sibylla and Ludo's story rather than being characters in their own right.
The plot was amazing. I loved the family aspect and the way that intelligence can be a hindrance in everyday life. I didn't love the switch between Sibylla and Ludo's perspectives because it felt inconsistent and unnecessary because I felt like we didn't really get a resolution for either story. However, I felt like the whole book didn't really have a distinct plot. It was honestly more vibes than any actual plot. The real issue that I have with the story is the ending. The book just ends. There is no resolution, not even close. It felt like the author just decided to stop writing and didn't bother thinking of an ending. It made me really annoyed because this was the type of story that needed an ending even if it was open-ended.
Another thing that annoyed me a little was the way that the book was actually written. In the beginning, it's very hard to understand because there are no quotations or dialogue tags. Additionally, there are sometimes several different lines of conversation or inner thoughts happening at the same time where they interrupt each other. The more of the book that I read, the more that I understood the writing but I still think that it could be a significant barrier to most people.
Overall, I really liked Sibylla and Ludo along with the discussion of family and intelligence but everything else fell flat.
The characters in this book were really sweet. I loved the way that Sibylla and Ludo were characterized. They felt like extremely intelligent people who were stuck in their circumstances. The rest of the background characters were interesting but it felt like they only existed to further Sibylla and Ludo's story rather than being characters in their own right.
The plot was amazing. I loved the family aspect and the way that intelligence can be a hindrance in everyday life. I didn't love the switch between Sibylla and Ludo's perspectives because it felt inconsistent and unnecessary because I felt like we didn't really get a resolution for either story. However, I felt like the whole book didn't really have a distinct plot. It was honestly more vibes than any actual plot. The real issue that I have with the story is the ending. The book just ends. There is no resolution, not even close. It felt like the author just decided to stop writing and didn't bother thinking of an ending. It made me really annoyed because this was the type of story that needed an ending even if it was open-ended.
Another thing that annoyed me a little was the way that the book was actually written. In the beginning, it's very hard to understand because there are no quotations or dialogue tags. Additionally, there are sometimes several different lines of conversation or inner thoughts happening at the same time where they interrupt each other. The more of the book that I read, the more that I understood the writing but I still think that it could be a significant barrier to most people.
Overall, I really liked Sibylla and Ludo along with the discussion of family and intelligence but everything else fell flat.