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introvertinterrupted's Reviews (1.08k)
I gave this book a 3.5 star rating.
The language in this book is absolutely beautiful and the use of imagery and metaphor in Arundhati Roy's writing was breath taking however, the "mystery" of what happened to cause such an upset in the Kochumma household dragged on for far too long. If I could have been told of the violent incident in the beginning and we work backwards from there, I think the reading experience would have faired much better for me.
In some ways, I almost felt like I was being held hostage by Roy while reading this book. Once I passed the midway point and still didn't know the particulars of the scandal that all the characters kept alluding to throughout the novel, I felt myself becoming frustrated by the characters over the top antics and the verbose wording Roy used even when talking about the simplest thing. On top of this, the choice by the author to bounce back and forth in time between the twin main characters' perspective when they were younger in one chapter and then turning around and telling their story in hindsight in the next chapter disorientated me to the point where I went into a mild reading slump mid-book. That being said, it took me far longer than I expected to finish this book.
All in all, this book was a solid read, but it requires a heap of patience if you want to get to the crux of the matter. Thankfully, Roy wasn't one of those authors that teasing drama throughout the book and doesn't deliver. The ending of the book was horrid, but understandable given the cultural beliefs they were rooted in and how the author wrote her characters. Roy's prose was absolutely stunning and I would definitely recommend reading this book if you love prose that's beautifully lyrical. Likewise, if you enjoy novels that are deeply rooted in the specific culture of India and it's caste system, this is definitely a novel you may enjoy.
The language in this book is absolutely beautiful and the use of imagery and metaphor in Arundhati Roy's writing was breath taking however, the "mystery" of what happened to cause such an upset in the Kochumma household dragged on for far too long. If I could have been told of the violent incident in the beginning and we work backwards from there, I think the reading experience would have faired much better for me.
In some ways, I almost felt like I was being held hostage by Roy while reading this book. Once I passed the midway point and still didn't know the particulars of the scandal that all the characters kept alluding to throughout the novel, I felt myself becoming frustrated by the characters over the top antics and the verbose wording Roy used even when talking about the simplest thing. On top of this, the choice by the author to bounce back and forth in time between the twin main characters' perspective when they were younger in one chapter and then turning around and telling their story in hindsight in the next chapter disorientated me to the point where I went into a mild reading slump mid-book. That being said, it took me far longer than I expected to finish this book.
All in all, this book was a solid read, but it requires a heap of patience if you want to get to the crux of the matter. Thankfully, Roy wasn't one of those authors that teasing drama throughout the book and doesn't deliver. The ending of the book was horrid, but understandable given the cultural beliefs they were rooted in and how the author wrote her characters. Roy's prose was absolutely stunning and I would definitely recommend reading this book if you love prose that's beautifully lyrical. Likewise, if you enjoy novels that are deeply rooted in the specific culture of India and it's caste system, this is definitely a novel you may enjoy.
This book was wildly unsatisfying. If I hadn’t read [b: Anansi Boys|2744|Anansi Boys|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479778049s/2744.jpg|1007964] first, I probably never would’ve continued with this series. I believe that Neil Gaiman’s premise here was interesting, but it was executed sloppily.
I would have preferred if he'd chosen a handful of Gods from a particular culture to follow in this story instead of having it be a hodgepodge of mythological creatures thrown together without any rhyme or reason. I say this because even when you go off the idea that America is a land full of people with mixed origins, there's also usually a specific reasoning behind how certain groups ended up interacting. In this book, there was just a random group of core Gods that seemed to band together without Gaiman explaining why these particular Gods have become hellbent on fighting the "Great War" to keep the New Gods at bay. This lack of order permeated the narrative and made the story Gaiman was writing feel overcrowded and overwritten.
Likewise, the way that the main character, Shadow, was written into the story came out feeling heavy handed. Throughout the story he doesn't know and doesn't ask questions about anything. This keeps him and the reader in the dark about what's happening. By the time he starts asking questions, the story is almost 75% done and the drama has unfolded with no real help from the character causing his epiphany to feel underwritten and dramatic.
I adore Neil Gaiman's writing style, but I was expecting there to be more reasoning behind what happened in this book than he gave. Instead, I ended up feeling like I'd been taken on a ride for nothing since the payout from the mystery wasn't as hard hitting as the actual preparation for the battle. I will be watching the Starz TV show, but I hope they take the story in a different direction.
I would have preferred if he'd chosen a handful of Gods from a particular culture to follow in this story instead of having it be a hodgepodge of mythological creatures thrown together without any rhyme or reason. I say this because even when you go off the idea that America is a land full of people with mixed origins, there's also usually a specific reasoning behind how certain groups ended up interacting. In this book, there was just a random group of core Gods that seemed to band together without Gaiman explaining why these particular Gods have become hellbent on fighting the "Great War" to keep the New Gods at bay. This lack of order permeated the narrative and made the story Gaiman was writing feel overcrowded and overwritten.
Likewise, the way that the main character, Shadow, was written into the story came out feeling heavy handed. Throughout the story he doesn't know and doesn't ask questions about anything. This keeps him and the reader in the dark about what's happening. By the time he starts asking questions, the story is almost 75% done and the drama has unfolded with no real help from the character causing his epiphany to feel underwritten and dramatic.
I adore Neil Gaiman's writing style, but I was expecting there to be more reasoning behind what happened in this book than he gave. Instead, I ended up feeling like I'd been taken on a ride for nothing since the payout from the mystery wasn't as hard hitting as the actual preparation for the battle. I will be watching the Starz TV show, but I hope they take the story in a different direction.
I struggled between giving this book a 3.5 and a 4.
The Last of the Stanfields is an interesting combination of mystery, historical fiction, and love story. Marc Levy is a skilled writer and it shows in how well he was able to mix several narrative storylines and not muddy the waters of the plot too much. What I enjoyed about this book was that it was a fast-paced story that was able to hold itself together as it took readers along for the ride, yet...
The issue where I struggled with this book is that it was fast-paced and that it ricocheted between timelines too quickly. This became a problem for me since I started listening to this on audible and couldn't always keep up with who was talking when it came to the lead female characters. If Levy had been able to keep the characters from being so similar, I think this wouldn't have been so confusing. I do wonder if this problem has to do with the fact that this is a translated novel.
All in all, I'm excited to read more books by Marc Levy. His writing stands out from all the books I've read this year because of the plot, execution, and the mystery of it all.
The Last of the Stanfields is an interesting combination of mystery, historical fiction, and love story. Marc Levy is a skilled writer and it shows in how well he was able to mix several narrative storylines and not muddy the waters of the plot too much. What I enjoyed about this book was that it was a fast-paced story that was able to hold itself together as it took readers along for the ride, yet...
The issue where I struggled with this book is that it was fast-paced and that it ricocheted between timelines too quickly. This became a problem for me since I started listening to this on audible and couldn't always keep up with who was talking when it came to the lead female characters. If Levy had been able to keep the characters from being so similar, I think this wouldn't have been so confusing. I do wonder if this problem has to do with the fact that this is a translated novel.
All in all, I'm excited to read more books by Marc Levy. His writing stands out from all the books I've read this year because of the plot, execution, and the mystery of it all.
I gave this book 3.5 stars.
I take my hat off to Candice Carty-Williams for what she accomplished with this book. While reading the first half of the book, I became physically disgusted with Queenie based on Carty-Williams' writing and description of Queenie's behavior. I couldn't believe someone could carry on the way Queenie did and not be able to identify that they were in deep trouble like Queenie did for almost 100+ pages. However, by the time I hit the second half of the book and saw how Carty-Williams bought Queenie's character to the point of no return and then gracefully carried her over the threshold to a revelation, I was thoroughly impressed.
I appreciate this book and what it represents for women in the African Diaspora. I enjoyed seeing Queenie go to counseling and how her friends and family rallied around her. Yet, the one place I wish that Carty-Williams would have gone into more detail was in the area of Queenie and her mother's relationship. It would have been nice if instead of having her grandmother come and pick her up from therapy, the author would have made it a point of having the mom show up and then, they could have had a heart to heart on the cab ride home. That moment of reckoning would have bought the story full circle. I say this due to the fact that I kept having the feeling that everyone in Queenie's family said their piece about Queenie "getting help" except her mom. If Carty-Williams would have expounded open Queenie and her mom's relationship and shared past with Roy, the story would have felt more complete.
All in all, I did enjoy the story and the diverse cast of characters. I appreciate that a wide variety of Black women were shown and that the immigrant experience was explored. I most definitely would attempt to read another Candice Carty-Williams book.
I take my hat off to Candice Carty-Williams for what she accomplished with this book. While reading the first half of the book, I became physically disgusted with Queenie based on Carty-Williams' writing and description of Queenie's behavior. I couldn't believe someone could carry on the way Queenie did and not be able to identify that they were in deep trouble like Queenie did for almost 100+ pages. However, by the time I hit the second half of the book and saw how Carty-Williams bought Queenie's character to the point of no return and then gracefully carried her over the threshold to a revelation, I was thoroughly impressed.
I appreciate this book and what it represents for women in the African Diaspora. I enjoyed seeing Queenie go to counseling and how her friends and family rallied around her. Yet, the one place I wish that Carty-Williams would have gone into more detail was in the area of Queenie and her mother's relationship. It would have been nice if instead of having her grandmother come and pick her up from therapy, the author would have made it a point of having the mom show up and then, they could have had a heart to heart on the cab ride home. That moment of reckoning would have bought the story full circle. I say this due to the fact that I kept having the feeling that everyone in Queenie's family said their piece about Queenie "getting help" except her mom. If Carty-Williams would have expounded open Queenie and her mom's relationship and shared past with Roy, the story would have felt more complete.
All in all, I did enjoy the story and the diverse cast of characters. I appreciate that a wide variety of Black women were shown and that the immigrant experience was explored. I most definitely would attempt to read another Candice Carty-Williams book.
The details in this book were very good. I appreciate how much attention was paid to each character’s life. I’m curious who the next book will be written about.
