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challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found this book quite gripping, well written and insightful. The whole idea of the silver working and the role language plays in it is really interesting and also appeals to me personally as a linguist, and it was clearly very well researched. The overall treatment of how people respond to oppression was also well thought out and I thought it was gripping to read about the different ways in which the main characters dealt with it. However, one thing I really disliked about this book were the footnotes. They served many different goals and it was very unclear from what perspective they were meant. I feel like they also implied that the author didn't really trust readers to understand the difference between fiction and reality and sometimes even that certain racist views expressed by characters are indeed racist and not factually true.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Islamophobia, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Deportation