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pkc's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Stephen Fry’s voice and tone are truly like butter to me, so this was a great listening experience. There is an entire moral question that goes unanswered in bringing this book to a conclusion, and there’s an argument to be made that it’s a very uncomfortable compromise, but all in all, I enjoyed this for the character development of the protagonist - Michael/Mikey - and the majesty of Fry’s writing. I’d also say that, aside from one a fair too casual instance of the ‘n’ word, the book has mostly aged well and it is interesting to read about the loss of political correctness when bigots in 2023 too often bleat that political correctness has gone mad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Religious bigotry, War, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Vomit, Antisemitism, Blood, Genocide, Gore, Cursing, Death of parent, and Xenophobia
There’s one instance of the author using the ‘n’ word despite being Caucasian, and I think (if I remember correctly) the hard R word is used once or twice.
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