Reviews

Christodora by Tim Murphy

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alliepeduto's review against another edition

5.0

This book absolutely wrecked me. I’ve spent days with these characters, worrying about their futures and decisions, and can finally breath a sigh of relief now that the story has ended. But this is one of those books that is going to stick with me. The story broke my heart, but that’s just life: sometimes even the best intentions go awry and the best we can do is our personal best. I was invested in every single character and I can say that while it was frustrating to see the suffering of each of these inter-connected people, I loved how it all came full circle. And I loved the way the chapters flowed from present to past to future! I know that for some people the non-linear nature would drive them crazy, but I loved it. This book is how my mind works, how one thing will remind me of something else, and how that often has ties to decisions we made long ago, so it’s better just to go back to the start. This was a masterpiece of literature, highly underrated, and I encourage everyone to go read it, if not for the important social messages, then for the beautifully written characters.

taylorgordenstein's review against another edition

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informative inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

lillianpham's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A New York City read with a capital ‘N’ ‘Y’ ‘C.’ Really enjoyed this one for the complexities of the characters and how much about I learnt about the AIDS epidemic. Very touching and heartwarming while also shedding light on such a horrible disease that ravaged so much of the population.

ktxx22's review against another edition

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4.0

First shout out to @kenyan_library for this kick ass recommendation! I saw it on his feed over a month ago and knew I needed this story in my life! This book is outside of my normal realm of books I enjoy, but this book is also a book that talks about subject matter that is important and informative. I throughly enjoyed this it weaved its way though many people and many lives. It discusses the AIDS outbreak of the mid to late 80s and how it was managed, or not. The people who were on the ground level. The people affected and infected. The lose of loved ones and the grief that occurs post loss. I had a pretty emotional time reading this and stepping into those shoes. On the other hand it deals with addictions: alcohol, cocaine, meth, and heroine. It talks in depth and graphic detail about the highs and the lows and the feelings associated with those things and attempting to get clean after years of using and abusing. Trigger warnings abound. But I highly recommend this. There were a few characters that I was not fond of from any perspective and didn’t feel that they added much to the story and because of that I’m docking it down to 4/5 Stars but I know this is a book I will think on and compare to others in the future.

pleoniesmith's review against another edition

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4.0

Really compelling story.

sjhaug's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

kstookley's review against another edition

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4.0

I reached for this book because I found it on a list of literary fiction with "happy" endings (happy, in this case, meaning not actively sad). It has some of my favorite elements in fiction-- primarily, lives criss-crossing unexpectedly throughout the decades. Although, like the best of this genre, it never provides direct closure, it offers the hope of that. This, and the distinct voices of each of the narrators and its exploration of New York AIDS activism, more than held my interest. The final chapters, set in 2021, were jarring, as any books set in such close proximity to coronavirus stuff without mentioning it at all will be. Nevertheless, an engaging read.