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algaliarept's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vmmmurray's review
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jenber23's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-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
2.5
bluestarfish's review against another edition
4.0
Kate Tempest's Everybody Down used language to dazzling effect and when the prose is good in this novel it is very, very good. Blending, expanding on, weaving in the album in a novel is fascinating, and the multi-voiced look at London is a gift. The novel is a little uneven with some unnecessary back stories but when she's in her stride Kate Tempest describes and writes like no-one I've read for ages and it's such a treat. London is changing (isn't it always?) and the lament for this gentrification in powerful.
piku_baumann's review against another edition
5.0
I went in with no knowledge, no expectations. Best way to be pleasantly surprised.
I enjoyed the writing, the style (hello, beloved simile!), I liked the characters and their tensions, I wasn't too intrigued by the plot, but I did find myself thinking of purpose and home and the city. It's not just the backdrop, is it?
What bothered me, though, was the plurality of backstories. It got my head spinning and I lost track in the pool of characters. Although it all tied up in the end, I still felt as if there were a few short stories pushed into the novel that shouldn't have been there. Was Kate playing with my attention span? And also, I need closure. So that wasn't great.
I enjoyed the writing, the style (hello, beloved simile!), I liked the characters and their tensions, I wasn't too intrigued by the plot, but I did find myself thinking of purpose and home and the city. It's not just the backdrop, is it?
What bothered me, though, was the plurality of backstories. It got my head spinning and I lost track in the pool of characters. Although it all tied up in the end, I still felt as if there were a few short stories pushed into the novel that shouldn't have been there. Was Kate playing with my attention span? And also, I need closure. So that wasn't great.
florence911's review against another edition
4.0
Very close to 5 stars. I miss some closure at the end of the book, which is otherwise brilliant.
noonis's review
4.0
A fun, lyrical read. If you like Guy Ritchie movies (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, etc), you'll like this one.
jen286's review
1.0
feel like I should start off by saying I did not know the author or any of her works prior to reading this and I am not a fan of poetry. So going into this the first chapter I was like oh, yeah, this lady is a poet for sure. The writing flowed and was poetry. Which was fine and I was curious to see where this story would go. Now with the title The Bricks that Built the Houses I expected to see the history of people involved with the main characters and how that history shaped the main characters. How what their parents or grandparents or friends of the family did in the past made them who they are today. I was curious to see how these histories wove together to make the present as how you grew up and the experiences you have do make you who you are today.
Only...the histories could have been completely removed and you would have the same story. They didn't seem to have any effect on the present day story. So...I am not sure why we had to learn the history of every single person who we meet in this story. Like characters that are only in it for a moment we learn all about them. It felt like we got to know every insignificant detail of every person's parents and grandparents and everything even if they never show up in the story again. And that could have been okay had the histories not been written so incredibly boring. I don't know how the author did it, but those histories were a struggle for me to get through. I read this for book club and I really thought that this would be the first month where I don't actually finish the book because I couldn't. I had to start skimming them and just trying to get through them to get to the other story.
Though the other story I was not a fan of either. I don't feel like we really got to know any of the characters and the story was not one I enjoyed overall. Even without the histories. I liked the writing more when it was the main storyline, it was easier to read and didn't put me to sleep, but...it was just meh. I am writing this a few days after reading it as I usually do and I can't even really remember details of the plot. Like besides the general overview. So it didn't even stick with me. Oh, one thing about the writing that did annoy me reading on the Kindle is that there were a ton of words that were italicized and tiny for emphasis and it was incredibly distracting. Like every time I saw one I was pulled out of the book and like why are people emphasizing words so very often?? I did look at the paperback when I was at bookclub and the formatting was much better and easier to read, not as obvious (I had asked them if the paperback was the same as my Kindle formatting and they were like there were words italicized? Really? They didn't remember because you could just read through). So if you are reading on a Kindle or e-reader of some sort it might be distracting as well. I know it definitely didn't help my enjoyment of the book.
Only...the histories could have been completely removed and you would have the same story. They didn't seem to have any effect on the present day story. So...I am not sure why we had to learn the history of every single person who we meet in this story. Like characters that are only in it for a moment we learn all about them. It felt like we got to know every insignificant detail of every person's parents and grandparents and everything even if they never show up in the story again. And that could have been okay had the histories not been written so incredibly boring. I don't know how the author did it, but those histories were a struggle for me to get through. I read this for book club and I really thought that this would be the first month where I don't actually finish the book because I couldn't. I had to start skimming them and just trying to get through them to get to the other story.
Though the other story I was not a fan of either. I don't feel like we really got to know any of the characters and the story was not one I enjoyed overall. Even without the histories. I liked the writing more when it was the main storyline, it was easier to read and didn't put me to sleep, but...it was just meh. I am writing this a few days after reading it as I usually do and I can't even really remember details of the plot. Like besides the general overview. So it didn't even stick with me. Oh, one thing about the writing that did annoy me reading on the Kindle is that there were a ton of words that were italicized and tiny for emphasis and it was incredibly distracting. Like every time I saw one I was pulled out of the book and like why are people emphasizing words so very often?? I did look at the paperback when I was at bookclub and the formatting was much better and easier to read, not as obvious (I had asked them if the paperback was the same as my Kindle formatting and they were like there were words italicized? Really? They didn't remember because you could just read through). So if you are reading on a Kindle or e-reader of some sort it might be distracting as well. I know it definitely didn't help my enjoyment of the book.