The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
miller8d's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Emily St. John Mandel is the only author Iāve ever read as an adult whose writing is effortlessly legibleā I donāt have to drag myself through the continuation of the logic, the story, the names and details. She is an incredible world-builder and crafts her books in a way that kindly takes all pressure off the reader to painstakingly translate the story as they go, and she does it without losing the substance nor the sophisticated chaos of the story. She includes unnecessary yet enriching details everywhere so that you never quite catch on to the endings (unlike so many stories that make me think āOh, well, that must be foreshadowing somethingā). I had a complicated feeling of disappointment at the ending of the story: I was pulled to finish this book in two days because I was so excited to learn the explanation for the anomaly, and when I turned the final page, I said āOh, come onā out loud because I did not feel like I got one at all in the moment. I found the twist exciting and sweet and logical but emotionally frustrating at first. But since I completed the book twenty minutes ago, Iāve realized Iām not actually disappointed because that is actually the most natural and truthful ending there ever could have been, and it rings true to the entire story, to the nature of time and space and boring explanations for exciting anomalies. It shines light on the entire heroās journey and disarms us with a lonely sense of naked responsibility over the choices we make and especially over the universally lackluster inevitability of the logical consequences of the choices we make. I also really love how Mandel softly infused a strong clarity of anti-colonization and anti-cop sanity throughout the actions and beliefs of the lovable charactersā refreshing to read a sci-fi/fictional/apocalyptic piece that doesnāt bury the lead of what evils are obviously leading us toward the darkness (colonization and cops, etc.), and refreshing to read any fictional book that pursues a leftist narrative through world-building and plot points, instead of just veering recklessly into harmful tokenization, superimposed racial dynamics written by a white author, and so on. I also just realized I liked the red herring of Vincent falling off into the seaā at the time, I was 100% sure sheād been teleported by the anomaly and that we must meet her later on. Fun to think that perhaps she did teleport somehow but that weāll never know because Gaspery never knows. I loved this book.Ā
Note: I pictured Gaspery as Jacob Wysocki from College Humor.
Note: I pictured Gaspery as Jacob Wysocki from College Humor.
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Death, Mental illness, War, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Deportation, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Body horror
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Vomit, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, and Car accident
Iām quite a sensitive person and even Iād say that despite the content warnings for this book, it is not an upsetting read (at least for me). The mentions of upsetting topics are justified and unsurprising in the context of the book, and very rarely is any upsetting detail given for the sake of indulgent displeasure. The bits that did upset me were
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