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professorbadger's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I’ve been working through the oldest books in my library wish list. By the time I get to them, I have no idea what they’re about or why I put them on the list. It’s interesting approaching each book as a blank slate, without any preconceived expectations.
For the first couple of chapters, I wondered why on earth I might have been drawn to an astronaut story. Not my usual thing. But the story pulled me in quickly. It’s really a story about relationships — to family, coworkers, even you to your Self — that happens to be set among astronauts.
In many ways, this was a 5 star novel for me. I loved how reflective it was, was enamored by some of the thoughts and turns of phrase, and found the space details interesting. But I’m grading down a little for its flaws, most notably that every character’s “voice” felt too similar, especially at first. There’s also a huge streak of ambiguity in the book, which I respect as a purposeful choice by the author but didn’t work for me on a reader level.
For the first couple of chapters, I wondered why on earth I might have been drawn to an astronaut story. Not my usual thing. But the story pulled me in quickly. It’s really a story about relationships — to family, coworkers, even you to your Self — that happens to be set among astronauts.
In many ways, this was a 5 star novel for me. I loved how reflective it was, was enamored by some of the thoughts and turns of phrase, and found the space details interesting. But I’m grading down a little for its flaws, most notably that every character’s “voice” felt too similar, especially at first. There’s also a huge streak of ambiguity in the book, which I respect as a purposeful choice by the author but didn’t work for me on a reader level.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Fatphobia
mkpatter's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I knew I was gonna have a bad time with this when I found out it was uncritically about private industry taking over space travel. But I had an even worse time than that - it has every literary fiction trope I hate, the worst of which is the homophobic closeted queer person. And it's also EXTREMELY fatphobic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Homophobia
sarah_d's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia