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filaret526's review against another edition
3.0
This was more 3 1/2 stars. It was a slow start, but pay attention to the details in the beginning! It starts to pick up about 90-100 pages in and then there are a lot of twists and turns . It is almost a mystery when they try to figure out who Samarin really is. The character of Anna really changes throughout the book. The ending is very interesting as it could have gone many different ways. I was never really clear of Samarin’s motive for his actions other than being a sociopath . I really felt bad for the character of Mutz. So all an all, and interesting book if you can get past the first part.
laurapk's review against another edition
DNF. I gave up on the second chapter. I was confused and utter uninterested in the characters. Maybe I'll give it a chance at a later time, but not right now
jwilly19's review against another edition
5.0
Can't recommend this one highly enough. Strange, disturbing subject matter -- but absorbing and epic in all the right ways. Read it.
solaana's review against another edition
Like 7 horses are killed within the first 5 pages. You try reading past that.
ruta_crnoja's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Not what I expected. At one point I thought to stop reading because I thought it went of tracs, but it turned out to be a great novel.
book_dragon29's review against another edition
1.0
Summary: Man cuts off dick to join religious cult. Wife would have liked to have been informed.
I should have trusted my instincts about this book when I knew it wasn’t for me after a mans genitals during a sex scene were referred to as ‘his gift’. Are you joking?
This book was ridiculous nonsense and the only reason I am glad I have finished it is so I can write this scathing review whilst knowing I gave it every possible chance to redeem itself.
If you like books where:
- the female character (because there is only ever one in books like this) can only be referred to as beautiful / ‘whore’/ ‘slut’ and is generally written terribly,
- self important men who think they are doing such noble things are actually just spouting macho shithead nonsense, usually at the expense of the women around them - who were entirely financially and socially dependent on them at this time let’s remember,
- nothing really happens, but not like in the nice old books way where nothing happens except everything happens. No, like all these big events happen but they’re not actually leading anywhere and you finish the book feeling like, what was the point of that?
- there are vile descriptions of people eating human organs,
- there are too many individual stories going on to be able to emotionally invest in any of the characters (although they are all awful so why would you),
- half of it may as well be in riddles because the language is so clunky and you can’t understand the point of what anyone is actually trying to say
Then knock yourself out. Ridiculous that I got sent this when I asked my book subscription provider for a ‘cheerful read’. Lol ok.
I should have trusted my instincts about this book when I knew it wasn’t for me after a mans genitals during a sex scene were referred to as ‘his gift’. Are you joking?
This book was ridiculous nonsense and the only reason I am glad I have finished it is so I can write this scathing review whilst knowing I gave it every possible chance to redeem itself.
If you like books where:
- the female character (because there is only ever one in books like this) can only be referred to as beautiful / ‘whore’/ ‘slut’ and is generally written terribly,
- self important men who think they are doing such noble things are actually just spouting macho shithead nonsense, usually at the expense of the women around them - who were entirely financially and socially dependent on them at this time let’s remember,
- nothing really happens, but not like in the nice old books way where nothing happens except everything happens. No, like all these big events happen but they’re not actually leading anywhere and you finish the book feeling like, what was the point of that?
- there are vile descriptions of people eating human organs,
- there are too many individual stories going on to be able to emotionally invest in any of the characters (although they are all awful so why would you),
- half of it may as well be in riddles because the language is so clunky and you can’t understand the point of what anyone is actually trying to say
Then knock yourself out. Ridiculous that I got sent this when I asked my book subscription provider for a ‘cheerful read’. Lol ok.
howkatiereads's review against another edition
5.0
Best book I've read in a long time. I pretty much read it straight through (granted I did have a rare day of nothingness in front of me). It's one of those books that you tear through, but when you get towards the end, you try to read slower, because you want it to last longer (maybe that's just me). Hard to explain what it's about without giving away anything good, but the themes are vast and haunting, like the time and place it's set.
christopherbabcock's review against another edition
2.0
DNFed page 37. As others have said, this book mimics Dostoevsky and Solzhenititsyn, clearing trying to establish itself within the sweeping scope genre of Russian literature. But there's a difference.
Dostoevsky worshipped and sought the goodness of God in his novels, even when the world was bleak and evil. Meek's novel worships the bleak and the evil and seems to revel in God's silence on the endless steppes. While the prose was haunting, I couldn't bring myself to read more. To revel in darkness for the sake of being "gritty" is to become less real, less true, less genuinely human. For it is the moments of light, not darkness, that reveal who we are.
Dostoevsky worshipped and sought the goodness of God in his novels, even when the world was bleak and evil. Meek's novel worships the bleak and the evil and seems to revel in God's silence on the endless steppes. While the prose was haunting, I couldn't bring myself to read more. To revel in darkness for the sake of being "gritty" is to become less real, less true, less genuinely human. For it is the moments of light, not darkness, that reveal who we are.
mikelangan's review against another edition
4.0
An ingenious novel with many interwoven stories makes this book a compulsive page turner. The reader is always anxious to know what happens next. A very brief outline is as follows. Suffice to say it is a novel well worth reading.
The story is centered in a remote Siberian town called Yazyk, which is in turmoil because of the civil war between the Whites and the Reds. It includes a reclusive Christian sect (practicing castration to remain pure) and a unit of Czech soldiers stranded in the aftermath of World War I together with cannibalism and escaped penal inmates. The reader can feel the all encompassing coldness of the location.
Extreme convictions abound as does mindless hatred.
The principle character, Samarin, wanders into the town having escaped from an Artic labour camp. The story gradually reveals Samarin's true history and character and his interaction with the community. Zealots abound as does their willingness to carry out, in the name of humanity, the most grotesquely inhuman acts.
The story is centered in a remote Siberian town called Yazyk, which is in turmoil because of the civil war between the Whites and the Reds. It includes a reclusive Christian sect (practicing castration to remain pure) and a unit of Czech soldiers stranded in the aftermath of World War I together with cannibalism and escaped penal inmates. The reader can feel the all encompassing coldness of the location.
Extreme convictions abound as does mindless hatred.
The principle character, Samarin, wanders into the town having escaped from an Artic labour camp. The story gradually reveals Samarin's true history and character and his interaction with the community. Zealots abound as does their willingness to carry out, in the name of humanity, the most grotesquely inhuman acts.
amberw27's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Czechs and Reds in Siberia. Psychotic convict. Sect of castrates. Photographer mother. Loved the writing.