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dreadspawn'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, and Police brutality
Minor: Torture
whatthekatdraggedin'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
3.0
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and War
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
For me, the strength of the novel was in its depiction of the historical context surrounding this event - incorporating the then very recent history of the Holocaust, which decimated Budapest's Jewish population. Locke - who is Jewish but not Hungarian - handles this history with care and sensitivity, and there are some great lines that resonated with me at the time I read them. The historical context was a big reason why I continued reading this.
But in my opinion, there were two ways in which This Rebel Heart fell short - characterisation, and magical realism (which is a genre I've had a lot of difficulty with in the past, but that's beside the point).
I'll talk about the characterisation issue first. For me, good characterisation is essential to my enjoyment of a fiction book- because if the author doesn't make you care about the characters, why should you care about what happens to them? And that was the problem here. The three central characters - Csilla first and foremost, but Tamás, and Azriel too - did not feel like real people. The way they spoke, both to others and among themselves, felt too formal, and often the phrases they used felt like philosophical musings than natural conversation. In Azriel's case, this is excusable given he is
Now we come to the magical realism aspects. I know there are some people who love this genre - but, as I mentioned above, I am not one of them. I do, however, enjoy fantasy, and I feel that the difference between that and magical realism is that fantasy doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is, and the rules are clearly established from the outset. With magical realism, it seems to me the rules are that there are no rules, and that's my issue. With This Rebel Heart, I suspect Locke intended the magical realist aspects -
Katherine Locke deserves a great deal of credit for writing about a part of history that doesn't get the attention it should, but for me, This Rebel Heart did not work.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Homophobia, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
Minor: Torture, Mass/school shootings, and Medical trauma
raix's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Homophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
readingonfordearlife's review
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Genocide
emilysbookishlife'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Blood, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Antisemitism, and Grief
cavtasticreader'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
4.5
It is set in 1956 Budapest, Hungary and follows Csilla a young Jewish woman born in Budapest before WWII raised in the Jewish Ghetto’s, lived through the war, and in now trying to figure out life in a Hungary that was “freed” by Russia and living under the boot of communism. Every thing she sees are in shades of gray because theye have lost so much that their world is drained of color. Csilla looks into her past for advice to lead her and Hungary into the future. Her ideas of her parents change as she learns more and so does her opinion of herself and her country.
My favorite quote from the book is “We know that tyranny can thrive anywhere. We forget that hope can too, and hope feeds rebellion.”
I did receive this as an ARC copy for my honest opinion and review.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Child death, Violence, and Religious bigotry
infinitegoldenfloors's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Genocide, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death and Torture