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carolynfritz's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating take on where food goes when climate change takes over. Deep observations about wealth, pleasure, inequality, and generational gaps given all of that. The writing was visceral and raw.
bdelcastle's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
hannahr190's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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? No
3.5
abigailrh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- 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? No
4.0
helensadler55's review against another edition
4.0
Unique in its approach, Zhang delivers a novel like no other. I was fascinated well into it, but found myself getting a bit agitated after the halfway point. It took a while to realize my feelings mirrored what was happening with the narrator. As the book moved to it satisfying ending, I was able to calm down. I can’t recall ever having that experience with a book, so I think it speaks to the genius of the author.
trout_lily's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I loved Zhang's "How Much of These Hills Is Gold". So I was looking forward to this novel. It would generally be right up my alley, but I struggled to stay connected. The urgency/ devastating global context was so flat that I couldn't feel the losses nor her experience in the
" country" . I loved her backstory, however. This was well written. Her isolation, drift and desperation was palpable. I was with her initially, but midway through book I was super bored with her. Her final story was so shallow and felt thrown together, with the second half of her life all mashed together in a rush shiny things just tie up the story.
" country" . I loved her backstory, however. This was well written. Her isolation, drift and desperation was palpable. I was with her initially, but midway through book I was super bored with her. Her final story was so shallow and felt thrown together, with the second half of her life all mashed together in a rush shiny things just tie up the story.
prairey's review against another edition
my favorite part of this book was the acknowledgements
bionicsarah's review against another edition
5.0
What an extraordinary book this is, it’s an accomplished feet of poetry and storytelling I loved it
The story is set in the world of Climate disaster where right at the start an American cook stuck in uk seeks a way out of her predicament. She Takes a job as a chef in a unextraordinary compound run by a man and his daughter who, through genetic engineering, are attempting to prevent animals from becoming extinct. The excesses of the world as seen through the eyes of the greedy consumerism of the people living in this mountain country. The comparison of the lovers of rich French cuisine, and of eating unusual Bush meat shows clear parallels between the way we miss treat our planet. The comparison is cleverly and subtly done. You start to really hate the inhabitants of this mountain kingdom.
The author has a very unique writing style, darkly, poetic and evocative .
The micro flashforwards are very clever hinting of a world after the end of the world scenario where the majority of the book is set
I love the end, I hadn’t really predicted that the story would end in this way. Particularly at the very end, the list of the joys in the old narrators life was so six synced and perfectly describes, they brought tears to my eyes
There has come the time that every literary author is writing his or her Climate Change novel, and this is quite remarkable one. Probably the best I’ve read so far.
I read an early copy of the book on NetGalley, UK. Published in the UK on the 20th of September 2023 by Random House UK Cornerstone.
This review will appear on on Goodreads, NetGalley, UK, and my book blog bionicSarahsbooks.wordpress.com
The story is set in the world of Climate disaster where right at the start an American cook stuck in uk seeks a way out of her predicament. She Takes a job as a chef in a unextraordinary compound run by a man and his daughter who, through genetic engineering, are attempting to prevent animals from becoming extinct. The excesses of the world as seen through the eyes of the greedy consumerism of the people living in this mountain country. The comparison of the lovers of rich French cuisine, and of eating unusual Bush meat shows clear parallels between the way we miss treat our planet. The comparison is cleverly and subtly done. You start to really hate the inhabitants of this mountain kingdom.
The author has a very unique writing style, darkly, poetic and evocative .
The micro flashforwards are very clever hinting of a world after the end of the world scenario where the majority of the book is set
I love the end, I hadn’t really predicted that the story would end in this way. Particularly at the very end, the list of the joys in the old narrators life was so six synced and perfectly describes, they brought tears to my eyes
There has come the time that every literary author is writing his or her Climate Change novel, and this is quite remarkable one. Probably the best I’ve read so far.
I read an early copy of the book on NetGalley, UK. Published in the UK on the 20th of September 2023 by Random House UK Cornerstone.
This review will appear on on Goodreads, NetGalley, UK, and my book blog bionicSarahsbooks.wordpress.com
bionicsarah's review against another edition
5.0
What an extraordinary book this is, it’s an accomplished feat of poetry and storytelling I loved it
The story is set in the world of Climate disaster where right at the start an American cook stuck in uk seeks a way out of her predicament. She Takes a job as a chef in a unextraordinary compound run by a man and his daughter who, through genetic engineering, are attempting to prevent animals from becoming extinct. The excesses of the world as seen through the eyes of the greedy consumerism of the people living in this mountain country. The comparison of the lovers of rich French cuisine, and of eating unusual Bush meat shows clear parallels between the way we miss treat our planet. The comparison is cleverly and subtly done. You start to really hate the inhabitants of this mountain kingdom.
The author has a very unique writing style, darkly, poetic and evocative .
The micro flashforwards are very clever hinting of a world after the end of the world scenario where the majority of the book is set
I love the end, I hadn’t really predicted that the story would end in this way. Particularly at the very end, the list of the joys in the old narrators life was so six synced and perfectly describes, they brought tears to my eyes
There has come the time that every literary author is writing his or her Climate Change novel, and this is quite remarkable one. Probably the best I’ve read so far.
I read an early copy of the book on NetGalley, UK. Published in the UK on the 20th of September 2023 by Random House UK Cornerstone.
This review will appear on on Goodreads, NetGalley, UK, and my book blog bionicSarahsbooks.wordpress.com
The story is set in the world of Climate disaster where right at the start an American cook stuck in uk seeks a way out of her predicament. She Takes a job as a chef in a unextraordinary compound run by a man and his daughter who, through genetic engineering, are attempting to prevent animals from becoming extinct. The excesses of the world as seen through the eyes of the greedy consumerism of the people living in this mountain country. The comparison of the lovers of rich French cuisine, and of eating unusual Bush meat shows clear parallels between the way we miss treat our planet. The comparison is cleverly and subtly done. You start to really hate the inhabitants of this mountain kingdom.
The author has a very unique writing style, darkly, poetic and evocative .
The micro flashforwards are very clever hinting of a world after the end of the world scenario where the majority of the book is set
I love the end, I hadn’t really predicted that the story would end in this way. Particularly at the very end, the list of the joys in the old narrators life was so six synced and perfectly describes, they brought tears to my eyes
There has come the time that every literary author is writing his or her Climate Change novel, and this is quite remarkable one. Probably the best I’ve read so far.
I read an early copy of the book on NetGalley, UK. Published in the UK on the 20th of September 2023 by Random House UK Cornerstone.
This review will appear on on Goodreads, NetGalley, UK, and my book blog bionicSarahsbooks.wordpress.com
kirkimon's review against another edition
4.5
Okay C Pam Zhang has a beautiful way with words. The language in this was wonderful and such a fascinating setting. I need to give this a reread when I’m not overly engrossed in my fantasy series and can really sit with this one, but overall I really liked it.