kiperoo's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this so much! I am a fan of alternating points of view, and this one is just so well done. The mix of the historical mystery and the present-day figuring it out, combined with these absolute nerdy teens (and Khayyam's nerdy parents!) and Khayyam's figuring herself out despite the love triangle she ends up in, had me zooming along to the end.
heroicandromache's review against another edition
1.0
I’M FREE.
No emotional connection. At all. To Khayyam or her ex or the love triangle or the French guy she fell in love with two days in.
I had to actually look up the book and painting they we’re talking about because the writing felt scattered. I understand what the author was trying, with the whole herstory, but it felt overbearing and really forced. Showing and not telling, anybody. (I’m all about reclaiming history, but when you’re beaten over the head with it every other page, you become numb.)
Khayyam feels like a teenager. And I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been out of the teenager years for a little bit, but she plays games with the boys that she’s in a love triangle with and it wasn’t good. It made me feel really icky. And it makes the narrative out to be something where it’s actually more focused on the love story than the actual plot. I was actually more interested in Leila’s story, but that petered out around the half way mark.
All in all, it’s a strong concept but just very poor execution for me.
No emotional connection. At all. To Khayyam or her ex or the love triangle or the French guy she fell in love with two days in.
I had to actually look up the book and painting they we’re talking about because the writing felt scattered. I understand what the author was trying, with the whole herstory, but it felt overbearing and really forced. Showing and not telling, anybody. (I’m all about reclaiming history, but when you’re beaten over the head with it every other page, you become numb.)
Khayyam feels like a teenager. And I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been out of the teenager years for a little bit, but she plays games with the boys that she’s in a love triangle with and it wasn’t good. It made me feel really icky. And it makes the narrative out to be something where it’s actually more focused on the love story than the actual plot. I was actually more interested in Leila’s story, but that petered out around the half way mark.
All in all, it’s a strong concept but just very poor execution for me.
raemoon47's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
chluless's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
Really enjoyable with a great archival/academia art & literary mystery plot but, unfortunately, this novel falls short of its full and honestly glorious potential.
Let me be clear, this is a brilliant book! Khayyam is a likeable heroine, all her teenage emotions are expertly captured, her family dynamic is delightful, and the Parisian setting is dreamily and realistically evoked where appropriate.
However, the emphasis on Khayyam’s romantic relationships is a bit much (especially in a book about feminism with almost no female friendships/interactions), the Leila chapters are barely two pages, and there are some awkward dialogues and occasional shoehorning in places where the reader could easily interpret meanings or themes for themselves.
Ahmed has created a wonderfully accessible book, but I wish the reader’s intelligence had been trusted more
Really enjoyable with a great archival/academia art & literary mystery plot but, unfortunately, this novel falls short of its full and honestly glorious potential.
Let me be clear, this is a brilliant book! Khayyam is a likeable heroine, all her teenage emotions are expertly captured, her family dynamic is delightful, and the Parisian setting is dreamily and realistically evoked where appropriate.
However, the emphasis on Khayyam’s romantic relationships is a bit much (especially in a book about feminism with almost no female friendships/interactions), the Leila chapters are barely two pages, and there are some awkward dialogues and occasional shoehorning in places where the reader could easily interpret meanings or themes for themselves.
Ahmed has created a wonderfully accessible book, but I wish the reader’s intelligence had been trusted more
miki_fourinterests's review
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kennedy136mc's review against another edition
1.0
this book is so all over the place and the romance is eeeewwww!
amm1y's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
biblioemily's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. It was an intriguing premise, but I just failed to connect with any of the characters in any way. None of the characters felt well-developed to me. I felt this way about Internment, too, which is puzzling since I loved Love, Hate, & Other Filters...