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splitdice's Reviews (151)
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
first few stories were honestly kind of lackluster, after them you get mostly AMAZING short stories. I was gonna make a list of my favorites but it ended up being like 3/4s of the book
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this was lowkey the most nothing burger of a book
so ill list some of my gripes here, some more subjective than others
so ill list some of my gripes here, some more subjective than others
- writing style was meh, not bad or good but just kind of there
- wouldnt agree with the genres listed. i think its more of a thriller than horror. also, would not list this book at lgbtqia. the main character was in a failing sapphic marriage, but it wasnt really a central part of the plot
- a lot of things happened that just . were not explained. and im fine with things happening without a reason if the vibe is right (like spectualtive fiction) but i dont think that was the vibe this book was going for. it was crazy because i thought this book was like 100 pages too long but so much happened that just . wasnt explained or didnt matter
- i felt like the core of the mother/daughter concept just wasnt well executed. shrugs
that being said i thought the atmosphere was great. and it wasnt overly bad (again, kind of a nothing burger) but it wasnt good
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i havent read anything like this before, and i really enjoyed it! the last book in particular, in my opinion, was a master class in writing. that being said i did feel like the writing style was inconsistent in its impact (at parts i felt like it really dragged and was superfluous just to be superfluous, and other parts it really added to the scene and magical elements of this book). i also think the book can really push to see how uncomfortable it can make you feel (mainly the fifth/sixth wound scenes) but that is unfourtantely a huge part of the trans expeirence
“But the beauty- the beauty because I became beautiful. That, too, was irrefutable. Did I become beautiful because I had failed to write a perfect sentence? Or because I had failed to write his perfect sentence? Because I couldn’t bear to believe there was no sentence, no sentence at all, to make him stay in bed, I became a writer so that his eyes would no longer be interrupted by the sight of my ugliness, so that speaking to me was like hallucinating a garden of swaying branches, so that he could tell me I was beautiful without lying. I thought I could never be Helen, so I became a wooden horse.”
“But the beauty- the beauty because I became beautiful. That, too, was irrefutable. Did I become beautiful because I had failed to write a perfect sentence? Or because I had failed to write his perfect sentence? Because I couldn’t bear to believe there was no sentence, no sentence at all, to make him stay in bed, I became a writer so that his eyes would no longer be interrupted by the sight of my ugliness, so that speaking to me was like hallucinating a garden of swaying branches, so that he could tell me I was beautiful without lying. I thought I could never be Helen, so I became a wooden horse.”
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
ill start out with the cons, mainly that 1. the book starts out super slow and repetitive (even though in retrospect this is needed) and 2. the writing style did not really click with me, though im sure there are a lot of people who will enjoy it
that being said, i feel like there is a lot of compassion in this book (especially considering that it was written by a man tbh). there were def points in this book where i was scared about how things were going to get handled, but i think it was beautifully done. also, the intense scenes were masterfully crafted.
that being said, i feel like there is a lot of compassion in this book (especially considering that it was written by a man tbh). there were def points in this book where i was scared about how things were going to get handled, but i think it was beautifully done. also, the intense scenes were masterfully crafted.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i liked some selected passages of this but in all I think a better translation would have done this justice. also wish some things were expanded on
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this is a review of both the book and the series really
reading this finishes all the books kuang has out right now. while im happy to complete it, I don't think the author is for me. i think that poppy war is by far her best book- something that all of her following books fail to capture.
I love the characters when kuang has the time to focus on them. kitay i love u. but there are just too many characters for me to focus on and care about especially in their connection to rin (im looking at you cike) if they weren't present at sinegard. I think the time spent at sinegard is the best of kuangs writing. when we get into the war parts, it just feels like we're running in circles and circles just about war and destruction, which I suppose is the point but it didn't make reading about it for 2.5 books even close to worth it. when we finally escape that cycle in the end, it feels very anticlimactic when all is said and done. I also have to say I have a lot of gripes about how kuang tackles the idea of rape and indigenous savegry. don't love how much she talks about how brown skinned and angry and uncontrollable rin is.
but I think generally, especially with how babel and yellowface are written, this trilogy was a lot better about nuance and subtly. I guess she got tired of people taking the wrong message about her book if it isnt spelled out for them. seriously, the (select few) of her characters make reading worth it. I love kitay 😭😭😭😭
reading this finishes all the books kuang has out right now. while im happy to complete it, I don't think the author is for me. i think that poppy war is by far her best book- something that all of her following books fail to capture.
I love the characters when kuang has the time to focus on them. kitay i love u. but there are just too many characters for me to focus on and care about especially in their connection to rin (im looking at you cike) if they weren't present at sinegard. I think the time spent at sinegard is the best of kuangs writing. when we get into the war parts, it just feels like we're running in circles and circles just about war and destruction, which I suppose is the point but it didn't make reading about it for 2.5 books even close to worth it. when we finally escape that cycle in the end, it feels very anticlimactic when all is said and done. I also have to say I have a lot of gripes about how kuang tackles the idea of rape and indigenous savegry. don't love how much she talks about how brown skinned and angry and uncontrollable rin is.
but I think generally, especially with how babel and yellowface are written, this trilogy was a lot better about nuance and subtly. I guess she got tired of people taking the wrong message about her book if it isnt spelled out for them. seriously, the (select few) of her characters make reading worth it. I love kitay 😭😭😭😭
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
there were certain parts that i DID like and i thought were unique and introspective, but i think this idea has been iterated on a lot better than what huxley did like 100 years ago. still a classic, but i dont think that alone 100% holds it up.
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
"I'm devastated that I don't get privacy in any of this, but that's been my life for a long time."
the things that Shari Franke has gone through are frankly quite horrifying
the things that Shari Franke has gone through are frankly quite horrifying
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this is such a forward thinking modern novel and its hard to believe this came out in like the 90s
other than that, this is a book about so many different things that lesbians face internally and externally. i really enjoyed the discussion around comphet without involving almost any men
it kind of reads like a lesbian femcel version of "no longer human" by osamu dazai but if it was actually good
finally, the chapter that following quote is from is, i think, one of the best chapters ever written in literature point blank. i want the entire like 6 pages tattooed on my body:
“My world is one of tainted sustenance. I love my own kind- womankind. From the moment my consciousness of love was born, there was no hope of cure. And those four words- no hope of cure- encapsulate my state of suffering to this day. My condition is one that will keep me in shackles for life.”
other than that, this is a book about so many different things that lesbians face internally and externally. i really enjoyed the discussion around comphet without involving almost any men
it kind of reads like a lesbian femcel version of "no longer human" by osamu dazai but if it was actually good
finally, the chapter that following quote is from is, i think, one of the best chapters ever written in literature point blank. i want the entire like 6 pages tattooed on my body:
“My world is one of tainted sustenance. I love my own kind- womankind. From the moment my consciousness of love was born, there was no hope of cure. And those four words- no hope of cure- encapsulate my state of suffering to this day. My condition is one that will keep me in shackles for life.”
informative
slow-paced
honestly wasn't that much about women as I thought it was