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foxtailsandlace's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
barboyaoya's review against another edition
5.0
i don't think there exists a book sadder than this one
jomamma's review against another edition
3.0
I'm pretty sure I am supposed to feel despair and sadness. But I'm not, so that's boring. I did enjoy the writing style, though, so 3 stars.
tuskact4's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
relyu39's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The books I give 5s to are, to me, books that found a human emotion that is so hard to explain they had to write a story about to convey it. And it feels so personal. And yet the story is wild and dark but the plot is subtle and almost gives peaceful dark? academia vibes if it weren’t for the kids future. I really enjoyed the friendship even though it was messy, but to me it reminded me of college and my own nostalgia and fears even though the story is def nowhere near my college life. If you’re feeling nostalgic this is going to hit a certain part of you for sure.
rinnsylvania's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
amorphousbl0b's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Deeply depressing.
You will often be irritated with how reluctant characters are to take seemingly obvious corrective actions, to tell one another how they feel, to do the logical thing. That's because Ishiguro barely wrote characters; he just wrote people. Almost all of your problems probably resulted from you doing dumbass things. And the narrator's perspective seems to gloss over many of their more kind or intimate moments, because focusing on the arguments and the troubles is just how our memories act.
The slow burn of this book's reveals are masterfully executed. I don't want to allude to a single one of them, not even those in the first act of the story, lest I spoil the experience I had of walking into this book expecting one thing and slowly realizing it was a horror novel.
You will often be irritated with how reluctant characters are to take seemingly obvious corrective actions, to tell one another how they feel, to do the logical thing. That's because Ishiguro barely wrote characters; he just wrote people. Almost all of your problems probably resulted from you doing dumbass things. And the narrator's perspective seems to gloss over many of their more kind or intimate moments, because focusing on the arguments and the troubles is just how our memories act.
The slow burn of this book's reveals are masterfully executed. I don't want to allude to a single one of them, not even those in the first act of the story, lest I spoil the experience I had of walking into this book expecting one thing and slowly realizing it was a horror novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, and Medical content
Minor: Bullying
aishlingrhiannon's review against another edition
3.0
Contemplated my review for this one for a while…initially it was a 4 star but honestly it left something to be desired and the toxic childhood frenemy plot line was mildly triggering…3 stars
rietbelmans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
nfrsbmschmck's review against another edition
5.0
a vegan’s thoughts:
i doubt very much that kazuo wrote this as any sort of political statement for animal rights, but it is interesting that most people who read this book and feel compassion/grief/outrage on behalf of the Students will finish the book and go eat a hamburger.
this novel gracefully explores how closed everything is from everything else, with a character who is constantly guessing at what others are thinking but rarely confronts the mystery of another’s thoughts, instead ‘reading minds’ or imagining by herself. almost all conflict is due to this dislocation. (tommy’s final scene describing his splashing through water fantasy seems so trivial, but is such a profound offering of himself that no one else knows. that passage hits me hard, every time i read it.)
kathy’s quest for Proof, proof of life and proof of love, ends not in failure but in acceptance that these things cannot be proven, yet we live, we love. the tragedy is being separate from each other; i hope that one day this generosity of openness is allowed to all those creatures who are now caged.
i doubt very much that kazuo wrote this as any sort of political statement for animal rights, but it is interesting that most people who read this book and feel compassion/grief/outrage on behalf of the Students will finish the book and go eat a hamburger.
this novel gracefully explores how closed everything is from everything else, with a character who is constantly guessing at what others are thinking but rarely confronts the mystery of another’s thoughts, instead ‘reading minds’ or imagining by herself. almost all conflict is due to this dislocation. (tommy’s final scene describing his splashing through water fantasy seems so trivial, but is such a profound offering of himself that no one else knows. that passage hits me hard, every time i read it.)
kathy’s quest for Proof, proof of life and proof of love, ends not in failure but in acceptance that these things cannot be proven, yet we live, we love. the tragedy is being separate from each other; i hope that one day this generosity of openness is allowed to all those creatures who are now caged.