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laguerrelewis'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? Yes
5.0
But in all honesty, this is a masterpiece. It is absurd that it works so well on so many levels—but in 2024, it’s anti-colonial call to arms rings the most topical. I was utterly enthralled by this book, and I am glad it is as popular as it is—though I won’t rest until there’s a copy on every shelf!
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism and Self harm
bwoo'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
elessahr'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racism and Colonisation
Moderate: Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent
vitoriaemi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, War, and Deportation
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bubblybelle's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual harassment
butlerebecca'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? Yes
5.0
Truly baffled by how one person can make a book that’s both academically specific and written with such beautiful prose
It took adjusting to adapt to the magical realism/fantasy elements but I really like how it simplified and represented the complicated facts of colonial empire
Learned a lot too - felt like what people do with hiding medication in peanut butter for dogs - like oh here’s a novel whoops bonus you also just read a textbook!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Suicide
sleepylizard's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.75
I wish I could collate all my favourite quotes together but there'd be too many! What a fantastic book - I especially loved the chapters where Kuang goes deep into the etymology side of things. It's definitely a read for anyone who's a bit nerdy about languages and etymology but it's fun amentally a powerful political book.
The only criticism is that it takes so long for the characters of Letty, Victoire and Ramy to be built up, we only really get that satisfaction towards the second half of the book. But I'm sure that's done intentionally.
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism
awildeasriel's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Classism
crybabybea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
First of all, the dark academia aspect was done very well. It felt atmospheric, grand, with a hint of mystery. It felt gloomy in a really fun way. The settings outside of the tower itself were less immersive, but the majority of the story takes place inside the tower anyway so it wasn't too distracting. The dark academia vibe was a genius way to explore a story about decolonization and racism. The magic system was inventive and interesting, and I liked how it stood as a metaphor for the industrial revolution.
The characters were just okay. We get to see Robin, the main character, the most, and I felt really attached to him by the end. The other characters had interesting stories that I felt didn't get explored enough. I understand this book leans in to its literary side, and the characters and arguably the entire plot are just allegories for bigger issues, but I think this made the character work suffer and it made the explosive ending pack less of a punch. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ending, and I still cried, but some of the other moments that were meant to be heavy-hitting fell flat because I didn't feel the connection to the characters. The found family aspect didn't feel fleshed out enough because of this as well.
I think the character work is a side effect of Kuang's tendency to overexplain things rather than actually have things happen. Some of the messaging was so on the nose that it felt pedantic and almost condescending at times. I wanted to read this book to challenge my thinking, and I hoped it would leave me with lots of thoughts to reflect on afterward, but everything gets explained to you so plainly that it completely ruins the amazing research and work Kuang put into telling the story of racism and colonization in academia. I mean, there were literally times when something racist or sexist would happen, then the narrator would have a whole paragraph to say something like "Robin wonders if this white person realized how racist they were being". It got irritating... I felt like I was on Sesame Street. I will say the writing itself was done very well, the prose was accessible despite the scientific, historical, and literary references used, and I appreciated a lot of R.F. Kuang's comments and her sarcastic footnotes.
The last issue is the pacing, which I think is also a side effect of this "telling not showing" issue. This book only gets good around the 60-70% mark. It had an extremely slow start with very little intrigue. We spent a long time in lectures and I felt not enough time was dedicated to furthering either the charcters OR the plot. It was a lot of sitting around and waiting. I don't mind books that have a hill into a snowball second half, but I almost put this book down multiple times because nothing was happening, then one minor action would happen and I would finally think we were going somewhere, just for it to slow down again.
All these issues made for a really weird reading experience where I absolutely dreaded picking the book back up, then when I started reading it was just fine and I wanted to know more, then it would get boring and the cycle repeated. I expected more from the rave reviews but left feeling like its potential got wasted. I still do think it's a good read overall, but it could have been better.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism