Scan barcode
jacobbou's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
landonwittmer's review
3.0
A great book if you're into detective genre fic. Not my cup of tea.
The prose was odd, like every character--and the narrator--all sounded fairly identical, all way too clever to feel like real people and not characters in a movie. The pacing also felt crazy at times, but I assume that's part of the genre.
Loved the actual story, though, of the Messiah and all that. Deep care was paid here, and it shows.
The prose was odd, like every character--and the narrator--all sounded fairly identical, all way too clever to feel like real people and not characters in a movie. The pacing also felt crazy at times, but I assume that's part of the genre.
Loved the actual story, though, of the Messiah and all that. Deep care was paid here, and it shows.
ellathelibrarian's review
3.0
On the fence on this one, was an enjoyable story but the edition we have is absolutely tiny. Took forever to read and probably cost me valuable eyesight.
ayaminerva's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
i don't have anything substantive to say. i dragged myself through 50% of this book 🥲 chabon had some overflowing purple prose on some chapters, others a magnificent display of his prowess.
nonetheless, it was a good and ironically accurate alternative history read (this timeline's israel also bombs places because they believe they are the chosen ones 🤷🏼♀️)
nonetheless, it was a good and ironically accurate alternative history read (this timeline's israel also bombs places because they believe they are the chosen ones 🤷🏼♀️)
jw101's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rickypitz's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
l3vy's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This book is best in the middle. Unfortunately for it, that means it made a poor first impression and failed to stick the landing in its ending. The book is a pretty slow start and by the time it does get interesting, its writing style is already starting to grate on you. This isn't helped by a rushed and anti-climatic feeling resolution.
My biggest criticism of the book can be boiled down to that I think it could have used another few rounds of editing. In short, the text feels very overwritten and flowery, sometimes to the point that it can feel mind-bending and confusing. From what I have seen of other reviews this seems to be somewhat of an anomaly for the writer. I honestly think there is a great book in here but is being bogged down by overly flowery writing and time wasted on insignificant detail.
There are some other small things that bothered me throughout my reading, such as some of the characterization of female characters and Landsman sometimes feeling inconsistent, but I don't think these warrant going into much detail here.
My biggest criticism of the book can be boiled down to that I think it could have used another few rounds of editing. In short, the text feels very overwritten and flowery, sometimes to the point that it can feel mind-bending and confusing. From what I have seen of other reviews this seems to be somewhat of an anomaly for the writer. I honestly think there is a great book in here but is being bogged down by overly flowery writing and time wasted on insignificant detail.
There are some other small things that bothered me throughout my reading, such as some of the characterization of female characters and Landsman sometimes feeling inconsistent, but I don't think these warrant going into much detail here.
"My Saturday night is like a microwave burrito. Very tough to ruin something that starts so bad to begin with."