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readingwithmygoldens 's review for:
The Astonishing Color of After
by Emily X.R. Pan
Let me start off by saying that I feel absolutely terrible that I didn't like this book. I feel like I really missed out on something because I didn't connect the way it seems everyone overwhelmingly did.
I first heard about this book from BOTM and what a beautiful cover, right? Sadly, the cover remains my favorite thing about it. I appreciate so much what the author was trying to do. Her story is a valiant one and I applaud her message of trying to communicate about the stigmas behind mental health issues (especially in Asian culture), depression and suicide. Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble engaging emotionally with the characters and that is a huge problem! I can't say for sure if it was the book or maybe I was just reading this at the wrong time? There was so much hype around this book that maybe that also contributed to it as well - I kept reading further and further and would think to myself - this is what everyone is raving about? What am I missing? The only suggestion I have is that the order of events (starting with her mother's death and then going back to get more back story and memories as the book progressed) is why I struggled. The book was almost 500 pages, so if it would have started maybe a month before her death and then the Taiwan part cut down a little bit, that would have maybe helped.
I first heard about this book from BOTM and what a beautiful cover, right? Sadly, the cover remains my favorite thing about it. I appreciate so much what the author was trying to do. Her story is a valiant one and I applaud her message of trying to communicate about the stigmas behind mental health issues (especially in Asian culture), depression and suicide. Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble engaging emotionally with the characters and that is a huge problem! I can't say for sure if it was the book or maybe I was just reading this at the wrong time? There was so much hype around this book that maybe that also contributed to it as well - I kept reading further and further and would think to myself - this is what everyone is raving about? What am I missing? The only suggestion I have is that the order of events (starting with her mother's death and then going back to get more back story and memories as the book progressed) is why I struggled. The book was almost 500 pages, so if it would have started maybe a month before her death and then the Taiwan part cut down a little bit, that would have maybe helped.