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eehraa's review against another edition
3.0
Quite a surreal book. It's not necessarily bad, but neither was it particularly amazing.
Cool cover and an interesting story with some cool thought-provoking moments but didn't really have a jump out of the page "wow" moment for me.
Cool cover and an interesting story with some cool thought-provoking moments but didn't really have a jump out of the page "wow" moment for me.
justanotherpageturner's review against another edition
3.0
Whilst this not my usual type of read I was initially drawn in by the beautiful cover and alluring title and hooked by the authors incredible writing style. The concept for this story is fantastic; an unusual location that you forget and are unable to remember- it had bags of potential.
Initially I was wowed by the authors powerful style of writing that creates beautiful and immersive imagery. This alone was what kept me going and pulled me into wanting to read more of this unique and unusual story, an imaginary world so carefully curated by the author to pull the reader into its compelling pages! Whilst the author has developed an amazing descriptive narrative of the setting I did find the characters were somewhat lacking. Again the ideas behind them were promising, but I didn’t feel connected to them and invested in their stories like I could have been.
The mix of realism and fantasy had the marmite factor, and unfortunately for me I found it hard-going to read at times. Ultimately it’s biggest pitfall was the character Ben who was investigating the duende killings. As the main storyline it was slow and for me and what I thought was going to be an amazing immersive read, left me slightly disappointed.
Initially I was wowed by the authors powerful style of writing that creates beautiful and immersive imagery. This alone was what kept me going and pulled me into wanting to read more of this unique and unusual story, an imaginary world so carefully curated by the author to pull the reader into its compelling pages! Whilst the author has developed an amazing descriptive narrative of the setting I did find the characters were somewhat lacking. Again the ideas behind them were promising, but I didn’t feel connected to them and invested in their stories like I could have been.
The mix of realism and fantasy had the marmite factor, and unfortunately for me I found it hard-going to read at times. Ultimately it’s biggest pitfall was the character Ben who was investigating the duende killings. As the main storyline it was slow and for me and what I thought was going to be an amazing immersive read, left me slightly disappointed.
gerbilreads's review against another edition
5.0
Something truly unexpected here, both philosophical and deeply weird. Beckett has a pleasing ability to allow the reader to make their own conclusions, as we learn few FACTS in this books, but the journey is glorious all the same. The characters and their journeys I found captivating and how they interacted with their extraordinary surroundings. A very interesting read indeed.
annafranklin04's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fav book ever
rej696's review against another edition
5.0
Would recommend. An excellent setting (think Vandermeer's Area X in the Amazon) and a fun exploration of human relationships and identity.
_bookally_'s review against another edition
3.0
This book is such a strange book but somehow I was attached to it. I have to say the standout was the setting of the submundo delta. It just sounded to magical and amazing. The relationships between pretty much everyone was uncomfortable and awkward and you could fully feel that. The ending was strange, kind of anti climatic in my opinion but then the more i thought about it the more I thought to myself, well what did I actually expect to happen in the end. It ended the only way it really could i guess. The writing was really good. I will read more books by this author, even thought after having read it and reflecting on it the book as a whole wasn't really a standout book for me other than the setting.
joosty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tessa_grayreading's review against another edition
2.0
A very strange, unsatisfying book that leaves way too many things unanswered and unexplained and with unrelatable, unlikable characters that are at best uninteresting, at worst annoying as hell to read about. There are some unsatisfying parts about, I guess, internalised biphobia and colonialism/white people telling other kinda indigenous people to just go with the times and move away while they're at it.
The main thing about this book though is how frustrating the ending is. There's neither an explanation about the wondrous world we've been introduced to nor about the lost time of the MCs or their future. Also all those fucked up straight relationships? Boring af
The main thing about this book though is how frustrating the ending is. There's neither an explanation about the wondrous world we've been introduced to nor about the lost time of the MCs or their future. Also all those fucked up straight relationships? Boring af