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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel by Douglas Preston, Margaret Atwood, The Authors Guild
4 reviews
stargirlmolly's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
jenabest's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was absolutely fascinating. I've never read anything like this - a collaborative novel with 36 different authors? And what an experience it was.
This ABSOLUTELY will not be for everyone. It's weird. It's experimental. It's NOT plot driven. It's completely in the COVID trenches in early days pandemic lockdown in NYC.
I really liked the format of the different tenants coming together on the rooftop to do nothing but share stories when no one could come and go freely due to the absolute explosion of COVID cases. I think a lot of the negative-to-luke-warm reviews of this book stem from the capturing of the feeling of those early lockdown days. It's in very recent memory and people don't want to think about it again right now. But I think the lack of a driving/cohesive plot and just the existence of people sharing seemingly random stories and hobbies really does capture what those early weeks were like. I also liked how you don't know who wrote what pieces until you finish - though I did have 2 that pulled me completely out of the story ... And unfortunately was disappointed at which 2 authors those were.
This ABSOLUTELY will not be for everyone. It's weird. It's experimental. It's NOT plot driven. It's completely in the COVID trenches in early days pandemic lockdown in NYC.
I really liked the format of the different tenants coming together on the rooftop to do nothing but share stories when no one could come and go freely due to the absolute explosion of COVID cases. I think a lot of the negative-to-luke-warm reviews of this book stem from the capturing of the feeling of those early lockdown days. It's in very recent memory and people don't want to think about it again right now. But I think the lack of a driving/cohesive plot and just the existence of people sharing seemingly random stories and hobbies really does capture what those early weeks were like. I also liked how you don't know who wrote what pieces until you finish - though I did have 2 that pulled me completely out of the story ... And unfortunately was disappointed at which 2 authors those were.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Racism, and Death
aseel_reads's review
reflective
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? It's complicated
1.5
I only finished this because it was the bookclub read. Otherwise, I disliked this a lot. The ending was just so odd and out of place. Few stories were okay but a lot felt super problematic and just icky to read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Alcohol, and Colonisation
lvleggett's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The collaborative novel was a new format for me. I was worried that I would get distracted by the different voices & styles but the authors -- and editors! -- created something special. The novel centers on a group of tenants in NYC during the earliest days of the pandemic. They meet on the rooftop of their apartment block every night for two weeks to tell stories to each other. It starts slowly, hesitantly but soon the stories pile on top of one another, capturing the breadth of human experience. The terror & dread of those early days in New York is told vividly as a backdrop to the tenants' stories. It is a love letter to storytellers and a reminder that our humanity lives in community during dark moments.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Death, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Dementia, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Suicide
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