nachosorcheetos
1 star for the mental health chapter, 1 star for the occasional nose-exhale and the earnestness.
I really like Rose and Rosie but if you were to take the pages of the book that were worth reading and count them, you'd have a very short book
I think I'm gonna follow instructions and read this again, but backwards.
For context, I watched the movie first - didn't understand it. I hoped the book would paint a clearer picture, and it did, but I'm still unsure what to feel about it.
I'm not really sure why I'm putting so much effort into this one. But I want to like it, and I'm giving it ample opportunities to win me over. Hopefully it does, eventually.
I appreciate what it's going for.
What happens when someone takes what if... to a whole new level. And what happens if that someone relies on what if... to answer a morbid question. Nothing good, probably.
Also, is it weird that I liked the stilted conversations?
Such a beautiful book. It felt very much like an enthralling experience. The suspense was gorgeous, and the characters were all perfectly flawed.
The author took a well-loved figure and crafted the story in a manner in which all the characters began questioning and revealing different facets to him.
The protagonist, himself, was an intensely disliked man with a stain on his reputation, yet the author weaves a tale not of his redemption, but one that shows us what it is to be human, flaws and all.
Every character in this book has something more to him/her, and it beautifully visualises how complex the whole lot of us are.
The ending left much to be desired, but the rest of the book more than makes up for it. It wasn't that the ending was unbelievable, it was more so that it was very much anticlimactic and it just called for something more.
the first part of the three parts left much to be desired. i made several attempts to persevere and it didn't feel worth it. the reviews made me come back to it cause it felt like I was missing out. And honestly, the latter halves were much better. it felt incredibly thrilling and i could feel the anxiety and the danger. it was basically a bit of a mind fuck. that's not to say that some bits weren't predictable and some other bits didn't leave me asking ‘why', but the good bits more than made up for it and rendered it a redeemable experience.
the incessant need to mention every person's skin colour or parental heritage put me off. I'm not American, so maybe it's a normal occurrence there, but it made me uncomfortable.
also, i was waiting for the book to get interesting and then I realised the entire book was going to have a similar tone to the first few chapters, so I gave up.
it's a classic and i always fare terribly when i try to rate them because nostalgia plays a big role in it and i can't help but give this 5 stars.
I won't lie and say that I didn't skip the poems or the painstaking descriptions of the surroundings, but hey, that's what makes this book what it is
such a painful read. I had to trudge through caricatures to get to the end. the plot itself is interesting enough, but nothing the characters say or do is logical or at least “humanly” illogical.
I think it's on par with The Lost Man, much much better than the prequel. It was really captivating, and the switch in perspective kept me on my toes. The desperation of all five women really came through, and now I'm wary of participating in nature hikes even if it's with a bunch of people I know..
The nice thing about this book is that it doesn't matter if you figure out the twists and turns and it doesn't matter if they don't do for you what they do for others - it's so well-written, I just kept gobbling it up. It's interesting enough that even once you realise the book basically boils down to relationship drama, you keep going.
The book was exhausting with so much to keep track of. There were roughly 35 different characters with at least a dozen different perspectives. Call me slow, but I needed a drawn out flowchart for me to follow the book.
For a book that constantly refers to sexism and misogyny with it functioning as a recurring theme, it sure had those traits deeply woven into all the characters. Maybe that was deliberate, but boy, was it exhausting. The references to technology felt out of place when woven into the mess.
The characters were incredibly unlikeable, but I suppose that seems to be the case with most books these days.
There were sufficient plot twists to keep me happy, some ludicrous, some exhilarating, but it seemed to make up for the exhaustion. If I'm getting worn out, I might as well get a thrill out of it.
I have a hard time rating books like these because I know that the opinions expressed in the book aren't that of the author, yet it is very difficult to know for sure that the author is not inserting their reflections into the book.
I will give it the benefit of doubt of course because writing about difficult subject matters would cease if we were to scrutinise the author for expressing them.
It was without a doubt a great read.
I will list some of my annoyances regardless:
- there are black characters and it's important to express that they're black, but, and a big but, it wasn't a single reference, the character just becomes ‘the black character TM'
- a surgical partner says all he remembered of the candidate was how she looked, etc. and not the actual interview and this was actually a positive interaction between the two of them - is there a single woman who would feel good after that statement?
- the cop acting as if he'd healed fragile goods just by spending the night with a character and referring to her as fragile goods
- everything Rizzoli said and did
- internalised misogyny? weird descriptions of assault?
- for it to be remotely okay for the cop to fraternise with the victim
- apparently being referred to as the victim is bad but referring to a patient as a patient is okay
Again, I will chalk all of this to character flaws but be warned that the book might make you feel uncomfortable because you'll realise there isn't a single character for you to like, and I'd presume that that would be important for a book series that recurs and isn't a one-off.
It's an interesting one. I like that the author doesn't shy away from taking things too far and for the most part I liked the book. A very befitting ending. But halfway through it I realised why I was struggling - the characters feel like caricatures. It's hard to believe the emotions behind the words they're uttering and the actions they're committing. For a book that explores what it might mean to be human, that's a shame.
My thoughts on the first book are the same for this one - while devastating things occur within these pages, the style of writing lessens the blow. Nevertheless, it's executed in a way that doesn't make you feel like you're missing out on any aspect of the story.
I think this sequel is much better than its predecessor, and it ties together different scientific concepts in a way that flows very well.
It reminds me of Enid Blyton books I read as a child. The nostalgia alone sustains the score.
such a gorgeously written book; time flew as i read it. its arrangement is pretty haphazard but it all ties together in the end. his story is so unbelievable that it's incredibly memorable.
It wasn't as good a read as ‘the lost man' but this being the author's debut novel makes up for it.
It's a tragic tale that would've been far better when written by the protagonist as an onlooker's perspective instead of a cop's perspective. The clues felt incredibly amateur, for one, and the progression of the story felt forced.
The book left we with a lot of loose ends and a lot to ponder.
Loved the concept.
Strongly disliked the depiction of the protagonist, and her numerous love interests. It's not that people like that don't exist, it's the inference that this is a normal discourse for women.
Some major plot holes.
i always get excited when the formatting of a book is a little different. This reads like files, and while it does a fantastic job in formulating a seamless story, it still left me wanting more.
Some devastating things happen to the protagonists, yet I failed to feel the impact as I wasn't able to connect with the characters through their dialogue which failed to allow their personalities to seep through.
It's a wonderful work of fiction regardless.
It combined giant robots with alien civilisations and threw in government conspiracies and a touch of religion too. All this while simultaneously being limited by the format, which is quite impressive.
It is also a very visual novel so I was disappointed that there were no accompanying graphics. Though that's a personal qualm.
It's the second comic book I've ever read, so i can only compare it to the first one I've ever read, which also happens to be the its prequel. I found it equally fun to read. No complaints.
My first comic book read - I really enjoyed it. While I'm neither Pakistani or Muslim, it was relatable to me as a South Asian.
The book is incredibly well written - I had a hard time placing it down. the structure of the story made it pretty immersive. the depiction of alcoholism and the never ending cycle felt very real and palpable. it worked really well as a plot device. the ending was okay, left a little to be desired. but enjoyable nevertheless.
Honestly my thoughts on the book swing both ways.
1) there's at the very least 9 parts to the book, so it's tedious. In spite of this, i think each part was fleshed out very well, so this might be a book that would benefit from you taking breaks from or it might feel neverending
2) there's a lot of descriptors, and I can't remember a million descriptors, so I just had to brush over them. essentially, there was a lot of brushing over to do
3) the descriptors were also the best part of the book, cause I've never felt magic as wonderfully as I did in this book
4) Kasia and the protagonist's relationship was wonderful and unwavering, and it's not often you come across a book describing the intense love you might feel for your friends
5) for that same reason, the relationship between the protagonist and her love interest is uninteresting as it doesn't compare to her adoration for Kasia
6) the protagonist's age is astonishing when you place her into the book, but it is a fantasy novel, so anything works I suppose (the princess and the frog and beauty and the beast are works of bestiality, no?)
7) you might go into it thinking it's a book for kids, but it absolutely not a book for kids. it has some intense moments.
8) i was recommitted this book as one with a strong, female protagonist and I'm 65% with you on this. Being clumsy or disliking gowns does not necessarily make you a strong, female protagonist but she was wonderfully brave and incredibly stupid, so she might be one I guess
9) We don't really get an answer as to what the heck happened during her naming ceremony
It was fantastical, so give it a go