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satsumaorange's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
I loved the writing style - I enjoy books that feel slightly "pretentious" in their writing style, and I actually learned a few new words with this one, which is rare for me! The story was lovely and satisfying, and I really liked all the main characters.
The plot does a lot of time-jumping, and it's important to distinguish between real and unreal events, but there is a gray area. I really liked how this book played with the fundamental elements of realness, and the way it was described and implied, rather than bluntly explained to the reader. By the end, I felt like I "got it" enough to inhabit the world Karen Lord created, but there's still an air of mystery and otherworldliness that I am am reveling in. I feel like Lord understands that sometimes it's a good thing to not know exactly what's going on! Lord expertly knows what "rules" to share and which to hide from the reader, and the resulting feeling of mystery is a part of the experience.
I feel like I didn't entirely follow the murder-mystery plot itself, and some of the supporting cast were kind of hard to recall because there was a lot of names. In retrospect, I wish I'd written down a list of names and defining events so I could keep up a little better. Still, on the whole, pretty enjoyable!
The plot does a lot of time-jumping, and it's important to distinguish between real and unreal events, but there is a gray area. I really liked how this book played with the fundamental elements of realness, and the way it was described and implied, rather than bluntly explained to the reader. By the end, I felt like I "got it" enough to inhabit the world Karen Lord created, but there's still an air of mystery and otherworldliness that I am am reveling in. I feel like Lord understands that sometimes it's a good thing to not know exactly what's going on! Lord expertly knows what "rules" to share and which to hide from the reader, and the resulting feeling of mystery is a part of the experience.
I feel like I didn't entirely follow the murder-mystery plot itself, and some of the supporting cast were kind of hard to recall because there was a lot of names. In retrospect, I wish I'd written down a list of names and defining events so I could keep up a little better. Still, on the whole, pretty enjoyable!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Violence, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
2treads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
'Tricksters should never trick themselves' -the Trickster
Blink, miss a word and you'll be left with dangling threads.
Lord begins and continues a story that draws from ancestral storytelling style using shifts and slights to build a mystery around which her characters converge and her readers revolve.
Think of Unravelling as a interdimensional, inter-temporal crime mystery, but crafted with folklore and a deep and wonderful imagination.
Like the title suggests, there is something to be solved, answered, unwound and Lord has expertly laid the threads within the maze that wind, twist, and contort to elevate the narrative. An imaginative and ingenious collision of the known physical and the unspoken supernatural worlds.
Lord has such control over the progression, the 'unravelling' of the story that she carefully takes the reader along each path/thread, veering unto a new one only when necessary, leading to a reveal that serves to enhance her world-building, further immersing the reader.
As I read, I could not help but see Lord as each sister who are the Fates, weaving, combining/unravelling, and cutting the cords of destiny and happenstance of her cahtacters; taking this strand here and that strand there, unravelling there, to combine in this time and to be cut in that time, so expertly executed was this story that even after reading, you will want to dive back in to see just what you might have missed.
This is a thrilling, engaging, spectacular crime fiction that blends folklore, science with a bit of time and space manipulation. The story is nothing short of magnificent.
Blink, miss a word and you'll be left with dangling threads.
Lord begins and continues a story that draws from ancestral storytelling style using shifts and slights to build a mystery around which her characters converge and her readers revolve.
Think of Unravelling as a interdimensional, inter-temporal crime mystery, but crafted with folklore and a deep and wonderful imagination.
Like the title suggests, there is something to be solved, answered, unwound and Lord has expertly laid the threads within the maze that wind, twist, and contort to elevate the narrative. An imaginative and ingenious collision of the known physical and the unspoken supernatural worlds.
Lord has such control over the progression, the 'unravelling' of the story that she carefully takes the reader along each path/thread, veering unto a new one only when necessary, leading to a reveal that serves to enhance her world-building, further immersing the reader.
As I read, I could not help but see Lord as each sister who are the Fates, weaving, combining/unravelling, and cutting the cords of destiny and happenstance of her cahtacters; taking this strand here and that strand there, unravelling there, to combine in this time and to be cut in that time, so expertly executed was this story that even after reading, you will want to dive back in to see just what you might have missed.
This is a thrilling, engaging, spectacular crime fiction that blends folklore, science with a bit of time and space manipulation. The story is nothing short of magnificent.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
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