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A review by nadia
Long Division by Kiese Laymon
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What a fantastic, unique, funny, clever book!
It has a theme I often struggle with — time travel — but I got it enough to appreciate the quality of what Kiese has put together. I did spend some time trying to piece together exactly what happened when afterwards, and whether I missed something that was meant to make it all click, before realising that that's not really the important part. I got the overall gist and it was a brilliant backdrop for such important conversations.
Probably one I'd wanna reread in a couple years and I'm also excited to read more of Laymon's work.
P.S. I hear a more recent edition of this book has the book in a different structure? I've got an edition from 2013.
P.P.S. This was one of the first ever recommendations Rob's first StoryGraph rec algorithm gave to me! The model has come on a very long way since then but it's very cool to see that it was getting a lot right back then.
It has a theme I often struggle with — time travel — but I got it enough to appreciate the quality of what Kiese has put together. I did spend some time trying to piece together exactly what happened when afterwards, and whether I missed something that was meant to make it all click, before realising that that's not really the important part. I got the overall gist and it was a brilliant backdrop for such important conversations.
Probably one I'd wanna reread in a couple years and I'm also excited to read more of Laymon's work.
P.S. I hear a more recent edition of this book has the book in a different structure? I've got an edition from 2013.
P.P.S. This was one of the first ever recommendations Rob's first StoryGraph rec algorithm gave to me! The model has come on a very long way since then but it's very cool to see that it was getting a lot right back then.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Gun violence