chaosofcold's review against another edition
1.0
Started off great - became tedious. It absolutely could have been a short story in an anthology but we don’t need another meandering technological dystopia.
amira22's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-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
3.75
catsonthewindowsill's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book sent me into a reading slump. It’s half baked, like a draft for two different books. At the end it felt like I was experiencing a fever dream.
mollis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.25
kaceyymair's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like this covered poverty, classism, and being trapped on the margins of society well. But it covered way too much ground and so the other topics (abortion, healthcare, the pandemic, terrorism, and government) weren’t done as well and ended up being very surface level and rushed
quokkaboba's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-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? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Abortion, and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Rape
coldbuckwheatnoodles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is definitely an interesting read, the dystopian world and country crafted by Cho Nam-Joo makes for a dark journey that constantly feels like a heavy blanket while reading. Esther than telling one whole story it gives snapshots of different characters over a span of time that slowly piece together the grim reality of the book.
winterbee's review against another edition
This was not what it says it would be.
(Granted that may not be the author‘s fault but the publisher‘s.)
This book doesn‘t really have a plot. It‘s more of an array of portraits or vignettes of the people living in Saha. It‘s clearly a critique of current society and events and throws the injustice of class into the spotlight. It wasn‘t uninteresting. However it was difficult to get into in the beginning. That may be because a) the plot was thin and b) the story jumps back and forth in time and it wasn‘t always clear what happened when. Also because the plot was so non-existant, it was a bit difficult to keep people‘s stories together. More vignettes of people‘s lives that are by themselves intriguing and well put together than one big story.
(Granted that may not be the author‘s fault but the publisher‘s.)
This book doesn‘t really have a plot. It‘s more of an array of portraits or vignettes of the people living in Saha. It‘s clearly a critique of current society and events and throws the injustice of class into the spotlight. It wasn‘t uninteresting. However it was difficult to get into in the beginning. That may be because a) the plot was thin and b) the story jumps back and forth in time and it wasn‘t always clear what happened when. Also because the plot was so non-existant, it was a bit difficult to keep people‘s stories together. More vignettes of people‘s lives that are by themselves intriguing and well put together than one big story.