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yajairat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
- I loved Cyrus as a character! He went through a lot, and at times I felt sad that maybe he'd reached his breaking point. But I am leaving his story with a sense of hope that maybe he has found some peace within himself.
- Zee who deserves everything good in this world. I am very surprised that my favorite love stories this year are in books where I was not expecting them. But I'm here for it! His friendship and devotion to Cyrus tugged at my heartstrings. How lucky he is to have someone that sees him completely and loves him as is.
- I appreciated this story being rooted in an actual historical event. I was unaware that an Iranian airliner was destroyed by the US government. surprised? not at all, this empire is evil! I liked that from there we see the lives of these family members that were affected by this event. When these tragedies occur, and we see mass casualties, it can be so easy to view everything abstractly. People killed are just numbers in a news headline. But stories like these can help us humanize those that are lost. I want to keep that in mind moving forward.
- there is a part in this book where Cyrus receives a shocking piece of news, and he is taking time to process the emotions coming up. There were some wonderful words about feeling anger, the ugliness of anger. also about fear, and what purpose it can serve. Made me reflect a little about my feelings of fear and my thoughts about anger.
- also some powerful words about addiction and learning how to live in sobriety. I don't have much knowledge on it, so it was insightful to learn a bit about both topics.
Overall, this book was profound, beautifully written, whimsical at times, sad, hopeful. I would say my only gripe with it is the big reveal. I would've preferred if things had gone another way, but doesn't trump my enjoyment of this.
" What was left of his life had no intrinsic meaning, he knew, since such meaning could only be shaped in relation to other people."
"Stories are the excrement of time. Someone said that. 'Adelia Prado'" - graphic but also yes!
"Cyrus also worried that the whole idea of gratitude was possibly classist, or worse... It's possible, he thought, that the experience of gratitude was itself a luxury, a topless convertible driven through a rainless life."
"It seems very American to expect grief to change something. Like a token you cash in. A formula. Grieve x amount, receive y amount of comfort."
"Anyone can see you cry. We all act like it's this big deal, but it happens all the time. We're just these idiot animals about it. But to be with someone while they cry naked? That's real intimacy."
"If the mortal sin of the suicide is greed, to hoard stillness and calm for yourself while dispersing your riotous internal pain among all those who survive you, then the mortal sin of the martyr must be pride, the vanity, the hubris to believe not only that your death could mean more than your living, but that your death could mean more than death itself- which, because it is inevitable, means nothing."
"Eight of the ten commandments are about what thou shalt not. But you can live a whole life not doing any of that stuff and still avoid doing any good. That's the whole crisis. the rot at the root of everything. The belief that goodness is built on a constructed absence, not doing."
"For normal people, drinking is an activity, like brushing their teeth or watching TV. They can reasonably imagine excising drinking, like any other activity, without collapsing their entire person. For a drunk, there's nothing but drink. there was nothing in my life that wasn't predicated on getting drunk - either getting fucked up itself or getting money to get fucked up by working or slinking this drug for that drug or that drug for cash. Getting sober means having to figure out how to spend twenty four hours a day...
there's no abstinence in it. There' no self-will. It's a chisel. It's surrender to the chisel. Of course you don't hope to come out a David. It's miracle enough to emerge still standing on two feet."
"You think there's some nobility in being above anger? Anger is a kind of fear. and fear saved you... fear made me work hard, get better. It's a dirty fuel, but it works."
"Underneath being-startled is the expectation of calm... I mean, a person gasps because the ease they were expecting was interrupted. I think probably your life hasn't taught you to expect ease."
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Drug use
elizabeth_henry's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Infidelity
marmitecake's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Islamophobia, Drug use, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and War
Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, and Terminal illness
Minor: Xenophobia and Sexism
evanlorant's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
the construction of the novel was interesting, it made the book imposing with many small three page sections bracketed by blank pages and section breaks. it broke up the flow a little bit, but didn’t have a huge impact on my reading experience.
overall, the book felt really well conceptualized and i feel like it followed through on the huge question it sought out to answer.
Graphic: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Self harm
libbylou1201's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide, and Lesbophobia
alisonvh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Xenophobia, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, War, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Islamophobia and Grief
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Islamophobia, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
ukponge's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and War
kenrya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Violence, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Death, Vomit, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Grief, Suicide, War, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Infidelity, Outing, and Pregnancy
hannahlee's review
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Terminal illness, War, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Islamophobia, Racism, Death, Drug abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy and Suicidal thoughts