imo_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Pregnancy and Death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
timedothwasteme'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
4.25
Graphic: Pregnancy and Death
kedalrymple'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? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Confinement, Self harm, Pregnancy, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment
margaret_k30's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Death
Minor: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Confinement, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, and Grief
the_reading_wren's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I should have been prepared by reading The Night Circus, but I forgot how the author creates a world for the reader to fall in love with before breaking it apart… and resolving the story in the most beautiful and satisfying way. I enjoyed spending so much time at the beginning of the book getting to know the main character and the beginnings of the many threads that later weave into the narrative. Then the second half became an un-put-down-able roller-coater ride!
Morgenstern’s talent for world-building I think comes from the sensory descriptions - the texture of a jumper, the taste of a drink, the richness of a voice, the sense of a space and the smell of a perfume are all given importance. But things are rarely over-described, making it feel like the storytelling is working with the reader’s own imagination.
Overall I think the diversity of the cast of characters was well done, bar a few missed opportunities for trans/nonbinary and better disability representation. Something I particularly noticed was that the main character’s mother is given a significant voice in the narrative, which is unusual in stories like this, and I appreciated it.
I’m really glad I listened to the audiobook; the cast is brilliant, and having different voices read different sections helps follow the flicks between times, people, places and books within books.
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Death, Murder, and Suicide
eleanora'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? No
4.5
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, Alcohol, and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy, Confinement, Torture, and Abandonment
strawberrypinch'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Torture, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Dementia, Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
her's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Stalking, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
Minor: Pregnancy
leilabelle's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
If you read this and didn’t like it the first time, I highly recommend you try it again!! I hated it the first time because it wasn’t at all what I expected, but once you know what to expect, you can actually appreciate the symbolism, ambiance and purpose behind the novel. You’ll come to understand it to be a bit like Alice in Wonderland with deliberacy behind its chaos, despite the somewhat regular structure of the first half of the book. I took off half a star because I feel like the structure could have been refined further, but all in all, BEAUTIFULLY written and I honestly recon I’ll end up getting a tattoo related to this book some day :)
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Confinement, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
blairextraordinaire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy and Gun violence