kingtoad's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bookonium's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
edgoff's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, I liked the book. But, it was really dense for such a small book. It look a lot of focus to follow the characters and try to keep them all straight. The writing was great though. I thought the connection between all of the characters were pretty interesting too. I probably won't read any of his other books.
eralon's review against another edition
3.0
This was really well-written but hyper-masculine and joyless.
k8iedid's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book so much - I loved the concept of the 2 different scenarios. I found many of Cohen's character descriptions absolutely beautiful, but the plot just didn't keep me engaged as I'd hoped.
robs320's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
w00ster's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This is my first Joshua Cohen book, and the style of his prose is right up my alley: Urgent, witty, brash, dynamic. After only a couple of pages, I knew this was one of theses authors I'd want to find out more about.
That said, I enjoyed the first half of this book more than the second, where my interest dwindled a bit and the story seemed to lose it's momentum.
I'd be intrigued to read more by Cohen, but I can't quite bring this up to 4 stars.
That said, I enjoyed the first half of this book more than the second, where my interest dwindled a bit and the story seemed to lose it's momentum.
I'd be intrigued to read more by Cohen, but I can't quite bring this up to 4 stars.
rachelehyman's review
3.0
Plot seemed promising but didn't go anywhere/accurately describe the book and the characters weren't well developed.
baltoellen's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Recently read The Netanyahus, which I can't praise highly enough, so thought I'd Cohen's earlier work backwards starting with Moving Kings. Cohen is undoubtedly brilliant and a brilliant writer, piling on description upon description, showing off his powers of observations. And, this novel so wasn't for me. It's very, very male oriented, with lots of descriptions of what conscription aged males talk about. I also wondered often about the women in the Israeli army, who were absent. But, yes, it's fiction.