Reviews with content warning for Murder - American War

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

American War by Omar El Akkad

17 reviews

eyebrightt's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

i really liked parts one and two - i blasted through them super quickly - but part three fell flat for me. part four was better, but benjamin just doesn't get enough development for me to feel much invested in him as a character.

el akkad also fumbles gender and sexuality in this pretty hard. sarat in parts two and three is described in a pretty lascivious tone of voice, which becomes really disconcerting when you consider how old she is in these sections. that shower scene is a remarkably good lesson on how to be as weird as possible about your 12 y/o protagonist being naked. it's harder to get absorbed in a story like this when your author is noticeably weak at writing teenage girls.

there were some other strange worldbuilding choices as well, to add to this. the usamerican south seems to have achieved postracial harmony by the 2070s, given that nobody gives sarat any grief for being either biracial or visibly black; they take more issue with her height and "masculine"/androgynous build, the latter of which wouldn't be unexpected for a young girl pre-puberty. but i digress. sarat's family being catholic is somehow the most controversial thing about them to the other southerners. for some reason.

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bonfeld's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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charlotteg's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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imogenclendinning's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense 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? Yes

4.75

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wandering_seal's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oooh this was good in the most grim, unremitting way possible.

I did struggle with the pacing at the start, but overall this was such an interesting piling on of events. I particularly loved the shifting focus at the end - the conclusion was exactly what I expected and also not at all.

I listened to this on audiobook, and while I thought it was so, so well done I do wish I'd a physical copy of the book so I could flick back between some of the events and documentation as well.

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