Scan barcode
sadhbhprice's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gadicohen93's review against another edition
3.0
This book began with great promise but ended up really frustrating me. The long twisting run-ons that piled on cause and effect one after the other, though they invigorated the writing at first with their sense of surprise and trust in the narrator's omniscience, started to feel gimmicky, random, empty of real power, almost a ploy to stun the reader with a final surprising phrase after a game of word association. The rarity of scenes and dialogues, which at first set up the fable-like atmosphere of the plot, then started feeling lazy, like the writer could only advance the plot through summary rather than drama.
chelseamguy's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the way the sentences were structured, honestly. And how within a single sentence the story could move and jump in place or feelings so swiftly.
katharim's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
laura_corsi's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know how I feel about this book..it was not what I thought and at first it was very jarring. I started the book thinking it would be about the reality of becoming displaced and instead it was more an allegory. A political allegory. It was beautifully written but as is common in allegories you keep seeing the author's framework peeking through and poorly disguised at that!
There were all of these mythical doors that served as the means for migrants to get from place to place across the globe. They just appeared and disappeared randomly and seemed to reflect how different governments become hostile or welcoming at different points. There was a more well-developed A.I. presence that was distantly threatening but then brushed under the rug. There were paeans of praise for multiculturalism and how we are all the same underneath. None of this being necessarily bad nor necessarily good, however it was unnecessarily clumsy. There are better ways communicate these things.
I would not recommend this to anyone that was not a progressive. But I don't know as I would recommend it to a progressive either as it does nothing to enrich their understanding, rather it merely reinforces their existing bias. Literature should challenge your beliefs and this does not challenge anyone's beliefs on the right or left of the culture wars.
There were some redeeming moments early when the couple first met and before the city fell, but the rest was disappointing. As soon as the fairy tale doors manifested the rest was pure allegorical propaganda. Also, the writing was at times brilliant and had a wonderful dreamy vividness.
There were all of these mythical doors that served as the means for migrants to get from place to place across the globe. They just appeared and disappeared randomly and seemed to reflect how different governments become hostile or welcoming at different points. There was a more well-developed A.I. presence that was distantly threatening but then brushed under the rug. There were paeans of praise for multiculturalism and how we are all the same underneath. None of this being necessarily bad nor necessarily good, however it was unnecessarily clumsy. There are better ways communicate these things.
I would not recommend this to anyone that was not a progressive. But I don't know as I would recommend it to a progressive either as it does nothing to enrich their understanding, rather it merely reinforces their existing bias. Literature should challenge your beliefs and this does not challenge anyone's beliefs on the right or left of the culture wars.
There were some redeeming moments early when the couple first met and before the city fell, but the rest was disappointing. As soon as the fairy tale doors manifested the rest was pure allegorical propaganda. Also, the writing was at times brilliant and had a wonderful dreamy vividness.
savaging's review against another edition
5.0
The narrator is a little detached, a little distant from our characters. For a while I thought the book was cold like an allegory or a thought experiment. But it was just restraint and care, and by the end I felt very warmly toward everyone. Some real hope in here, amid the crises.
mollyjones's review against another edition
3.0
Really quick and enjoyable read - focussing on the lives of two people escaping their home country. The whole idea of the ‘doors’ kind of threw me off - especially after reading a review where someone rightly pointed out the similarity to Monsters Inc. But on the whole a quick page turner about the struggles of love in a world filled with war, and an eye opener to the very real problems people are facing in the world today.
divsies's review against another edition
3.0
Changing my review after we went over it in my English class.
I still maintain that this book has good writing and characterization, but it does a very unsatisfactory job of portraying the migrant experience. It's like Hamid is trying to defy western stereotypes and the mass-media image of who migrants are, but then he turns around and does the exact same thing but just in different ways.
Also, this is a really vague critique, so I'll probably structure this better a little later.
I still maintain that this book has good writing and characterization, but it does a very unsatisfactory job of portraying the migrant experience. It's like Hamid is trying to defy western stereotypes and the mass-media image of who migrants are, but then he turns around and does the exact same thing but just in different ways.
Also, this is a really vague critique, so I'll probably structure this better a little later.
codergrl's review against another edition
3.0
I was torn whether to give this 2 or 3 stars. I settled on 3 mostly because it somehow kept me reading it despite the writing being, in my opinion, kind of atrocious. Never-ending sentences are a style, I guess, but not my thing.
mollyhyland's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0