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A review by cosmith2015
The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch
3.0
Overview:
I picked this book up as a "blind date" that my school's library was holding. I wasn't disappointed, but it wasn't as cool as I thought it was going to be.
I picked up this book thinking it'd be more of a apocalyptic/dystopic type book. And while it was those things, it wasn't *quite* those things. Maybe it'd be better categorized as a love story (not exactly romantic love) or feminist fiction.
Good:
I liked the skin grafting idea, but I do have several questions on how it actually worked to fit a whole book on your body. And not just one, but multiple. Likewise, could they ever erase a book? do the authors sign their names?
The characters were decent. Nothing too amazing, but they weren't annoying or one dimensional. I think the description of Joan was excellent and I liked seeing her path as a engenderine.
My favorite part was seeing the authors creativity with how the world has changed. The humans are completely hairless, white white skin, and lacking in sex organs. The earth itself is now more of a wasteland with subterranean pockets of life throughout.
Improvement:
I wasn't a big fan of some of the language. I'm pretty vulgar, but I've never been a big fan of "filthy" words... Like shit, piss, fart, etc. Just to clarify, it's not like the author was using the words to describe what the characters were doing, rather the characters talking like that to Jean de Men.
The book itself felt a bit over the place and probably would've been better if it was focused in on one thing. I don't really buy Jean de Men as a character either.
Lastly, I wish the author would've explained more about engenderines. How did they come into existence? Were there engenderines throughout time? What is their purpose?
I picked this book up as a "blind date" that my school's library was holding. I wasn't disappointed, but it wasn't as cool as I thought it was going to be.
I picked up this book thinking it'd be more of a apocalyptic/dystopic type book. And while it was those things, it wasn't *quite* those things. Maybe it'd be better categorized as a love story (not exactly romantic love) or feminist fiction.
Good:
I liked the skin grafting idea, but I do have several questions on how it actually worked to fit a whole book on your body. And not just one, but multiple. Likewise, could they ever erase a book? do the authors sign their names?
The characters were decent. Nothing too amazing, but they weren't annoying or one dimensional. I think the description of Joan was excellent and I liked seeing her path as a engenderine.
My favorite part was seeing the authors creativity with how the world has changed. The humans are completely hairless, white white skin, and lacking in sex organs. The earth itself is now more of a wasteland with subterranean pockets of life throughout.
Improvement:
I wasn't a big fan of some of the language. I'm pretty vulgar, but I've never been a big fan of "filthy" words... Like shit, piss, fart, etc. Just to clarify, it's not like the author was using the words to describe what the characters were doing, rather the characters talking like that to Jean de Men.
The book itself felt a bit over the place and probably would've been better if it was focused in on one thing. I don't really buy Jean de Men as a character either.
Lastly, I wish the author would've explained more about engenderines. How did they come into existence? Were there engenderines throughout time? What is their purpose?