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sr_marshrat's reviews
54 reviews
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
1 star for an interesting timeline twist. Negative stars for the insensitive, inaccurate portrayal of psychiatric care and mental illness and a slew of utterly improbable professional indiscretions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants by Karen Bakker
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Tears of the Trufflepig by Fernando A. Flores
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Flores builds a rich, colorful world and places colorful characters in it. But the story itself lacked the depth required to keep me truly engaged, and I felt pages could have been better spent on story telling versus trivial specificities of shoes and cigarette brands. Trufflepig gets stars for a gritty, believable backdrop and a cute fantasy creature, but loses stars when it comes to character growth and story development.
MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
If you don't find the Crakers charming, skip the finale of this trilogy. They are its highlight.
If you can't at least tolerate Zeb and Toby, skip this book. They are the dominant voices.
Two storylines bump up against each other in MaddAddam: one, humorous, about the absurdity of religion, as Zeb and Toby's pillow talk is translated into gospel for the Crakers. While excellent in concept, this theme is overworked in some places, and underdeveloped in others.
The second storyline revolves around how the surviving humans learn to interact with their new, less hospitable, environment. There was so much potential here, to explore a merging of three (yes, three) cultures.
But Atwood gets so bogged down in The History of Zeb - which is riddled with absurd coincidences and questable timeline-ing - she wastes the opportunity to really tell the story of after the waterless flood.
If you can't at least tolerate Zeb and Toby, skip this book. They are the dominant voices.
Two storylines bump up against each other in MaddAddam: one, humorous, about the absurdity of religion, as Zeb and Toby's pillow talk is translated into gospel for the Crakers. While excellent in concept, this theme is overworked in some places, and underdeveloped in others.
The second storyline revolves around how the surviving humans learn to interact with their new, less hospitable, environment. There was so much potential here, to explore a merging of three (yes, three) cultures.
But Atwood gets so bogged down in The History of Zeb - which is riddled with absurd coincidences and questable timeline-ing - she wastes the opportunity to really tell the story of after the waterless flood.
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
If Oryx & Crake is a high-budget HBO limited series, The Year of The Flood is a CW young-adult ensemble drama. Where the relationships in O&C are complex and nuanced, those in Flood are barely 2-dimensional. Atwood was so careful, bringing to life the world inside the Compounds. The world outside, as featured in Flood, is cardboard by comparison. But, y'know, what? You don't always need high definition and literary loftiness to tell an entertaining story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Brilliant world-building and strikingly life-like characters. I only knock off a star because the last segment of the book was a major tone-shift. The wrap-up doesn't *not* work, but Mitchell's dystopia is the least uniquely vivid of the decades he describes.
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
This book keeps you guessing; that's it's only plus. And it answers your questions with an impressive lack of understanding of human phsychology, physiology, and medicine. The narration is pat and the dialogue unrealistic. The whole story suffers generally from a case of telling instead of showing.
Wildlife by Jeff VanderMeer
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
4.0