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am2ara's review against another edition
Stopped at the mention of fetishization, grooming, teacher/student relationship
Moderate: Colonisation, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Sexual harassment
lilly_anne's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Dementia, Drug use, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cancer, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
spcandybars's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book is about 200 pages too long and 3 paces too slow. Most of the time I was reading, I was just wishing it could end. If you’re coming from other Ruth Ozeki works and you’re a big fan of those, one thing that may disappoint you about this book is the lack of whimsy. Ozeki handles very real situations and characters in a blunt way but cuts the banality by introducing a slight view of something fantastic regardless of being helpful or detrimental to the characters. She also does this in some of the most beautiful writing I can recall in recent years. This book, while also being written beautifully, lacks the charm of the fantastic and instead cuts the banality of cruel realities with the banality of a ridiculous reality that doesn’t seem to have a place despite being directly tied to the main plot.
One source of irritation I had with this book came from a cast of characters that I either hated or just felt entirely neutral towards. Another was having a differing stance on GMO technology than the one pushed in the book. Another was overly convenient plotting that felt like it served no one and heavily distracted from the family dynamic we were focused on. It made elements of the book feel cheesy and unnecessary and the characters introduced to carry out these sections weren’t fleshed out enough or impactful on the primary character enough to justify their presence. The A and B plot just don’t suite each other and I felt like both would be stronger stories on their own.
One source of irritation I had with this book came from a cast of characters that I either hated or just felt entirely neutral towards. Another was having a differing stance on GMO technology than the one pushed in the book. Another was overly convenient plotting that felt like it served no one and heavily distracted from the family dynamic we were focused on. It made elements of the book feel cheesy and unnecessary and the characters introduced to carry out these sections weren’t fleshed out enough or impactful on the primary character enough to justify their presence. The A and B plot just don’t suite each other and I felt like both would be stronger stories on their own.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Dementia, Infertility, and Miscarriage
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