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jwolflink3's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
trin's review against another edition
3.0
Chabon does a big ol’ adventure novel pastiche, down to the convoluted prose that had me making squinty faces at the page and backtracking a number of times. If you can wade through that, there’s a nice friendship to be found between the two leads, and a bunch of pulp clichés that are quiet enjoyable to encounter. In general, the book’s a fun read of the type I might hope to find in one of the houses on Lake Caspian we sometimes used to rent for a week in the summer, and would flip through dangling my feet off the dock; I don’t really remember the titles or plots of any of those books, though, so…draw your own conclusions.
dreaming_ace's review against another edition
3.0
This was an ok story. Part of the issue for me was I had trouble keeping the characters apart and that did not really bother me. So not bad but if I was asked to explain what happened I could only do so very generally.
bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
2.0
A colorful tale, full of textured but overly pretentious language. Chabon is able to quickly create the world around you on this Central Asia adventure, but his characters lack much development--another 100 pages of focus on character rather than movement would have accented the action with people the reader really cares about.
At the end of it, I was interested in the cultural landscape but almost apathetic toward the aims and hopes of the characters.
At the end of it, I was interested in the cultural landscape but almost apathetic toward the aims and hopes of the characters.
tropichop's review against another edition
3.0
this one was fine. I found it hard to follow at times but the writing and the characters were cool. Chabon has a way with dialogue and this book was no exception
dasbooch's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jess_mango's review against another edition
3.0
In general, I've enjoyed the books that I've read by Chabon but this one didn't quite do it for me. Perhaps it is because it was a bit of a departure from his typical style.
devrose's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
This is just not my kind of book. I read it for a book club.
jeremyjfloyd's review
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mrswhite's review against another edition
1.0
...but I never was much of a Kipling fan, come to think of it.