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storyoflife's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Boredom. I felt lots! of boredom reading this, at least 60% of the time I was considering to just dnf it and stop forcing myself to get through it. But my mom told me it’s her favorite book (or one of her favorites) and I guess I wanted to be able to talk to her about it and feel closer? to her. I especially felt bored during the drama scenes between Kathy and Ruth, since i disliked her from the start I just wasn’t interested in her character? Idk i just didn’t care what she thought of Kathy.
Frustration. Soo much. The whole time I was rooting for Timmy and Kathy and for Ruth to goo and I sometimes felt like maybe, this could happen and other times just lost hope and its sooo frustrating. Also all these over complicated communication issues- as a straightforward german I had the urge to punch smth multiple times.
Sadness. Pretty obvious and self explanatory. For fucks sake theyre basically clones waiting to be slaughtered in a slow manner. The whole system is so inhumane and I felt so sad about the missed time between Tommy and Kathy as well. My poor babies. Honestly.
Hope. Few times in between I actually held a flicker of hope that things could change and end on a somewhat happy ending or at least a lighthearted note,I had to force myself to stop that shit and stay realistic. U know keep the expectations low.
I guess it’s not really an emotion, but I also got to critically think my worldview over (probs was Kazuo Ishiguro intended -it does fall into the theme with Klara and the sun also going in that direction). The questions u come in contact with while reading this book are philosophical really, what defines a human being and what do humans deserve and how should you raise smn knowing how they’re going to die and what kind of responsibility u have over other people’s fate and all of these kind of trains of thoughts.
This is probably the longest book review I have ever written btw.
And because of that im giving it 5 stars. This book is unforgettable. It’s not my usual type of literature and it still moved me to tears. Id recommend it to anyone and everyone simply out of principle (very german wording ik).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism
The content warnings are up for discussion honestly, it really depends on how you interpret the book and the depicted society. These are warnings I chose, thinking the more the merrier (I always prefer too much rather over not enough of them).mallowree's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Medical content, and Gaslighting
jacduc777's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very good. Made my stomach hurt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, and War
sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I’m devastated.
I picked up this book because the New York Times listed it as one of the best books of the century and while I expected a mysterious, apocalyptic thriller I instead found a beautiful and realistic story about what it means to be human.
I absolutely loved the characters. Even Ruth, who is a bit of a mean girl, felt incredibly realistic and I had sympathy for her regardless of her actions. The same applies for Kath and Tommy, they felt incredibly realistic in a way that’s rare in literature. The one part that bothered me was how the chapters and page breaks always seemed to end on a cliffhanger, it felt repetitive toward the end. Otherwise, the writing was so specific I have to remind myself that this isn’t something I went through.
I would recommend this book to any fans of dystopian literature, although it focuses much more on the characters rather than any action. Honestly, I would just recommend this book in general as long as you’re ready to have your heart broken.
I picked up this book because the New York Times listed it as one of the best books of the century and while I expected a mysterious, apocalyptic thriller I instead found a beautiful and realistic story about what it means to be human.
I absolutely loved the characters. Even Ruth, who is a bit of a mean girl, felt incredibly realistic and I had sympathy for her regardless of her actions. The same applies for Kath and Tommy, they felt incredibly realistic in a way that’s rare in literature. The one part that bothered me was how the chapters and page breaks always seemed to end on a cliffhanger, it felt repetitive toward the end. Otherwise, the writing was so specific I have to remind myself that this isn’t something I went through.
I would recommend this book to any fans of dystopian literature, although it focuses much more on the characters rather than any action. Honestly, I would just recommend this book in general as long as you’re ready to have your heart broken.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Infertility, Sexual content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
avasbookmark's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
himpersonal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
3.5
I had a hard time feeling sympathy for any of the characters, even though they probably deserve more sympathy than most people. I could also see a future where this kind of ethical technology actually comes to fruition. As it is today, part of my job is to help assess the digital ethics of some of our more advanced tech projects for potentially unintended consequences. Would’ve rated this book higher given the subject matter could be so gripping, but it wasn’t quite, and I think it was because the characters lacked depth. However, that’s part of the genius of this book. After all, it’s hard to develop character when they have a very finite future. Actually, based on this little aha I just had, I’ll readjust to a 4.
I had a hard time feeling sympathy for any of the characters, even though they probably deserve more sympathy than most people. I could also see a future where this kind of ethical technology actually comes to fruition. As it is today, part of my job is to help assess the digital ethics of some of our more advanced tech projects for potentially unintended consequences. Would’ve rated this book higher given the subject matter could be so gripping, but it wasn’t quite, and I think it was because the characters lacked depth. However, that’s part of the genius of this book. After all, it’s hard to develop character when they have a very finite future. Actually, based on this little aha I just had, I’ll readjust to a 4.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
gladosisreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Despite finding the back-and-forth storytelling a little disruptive for the pacing at times, this was a really unique book that dealt with some horrific topics in a really beautiful way. The narrative voice was especially strong, and even if certain sections were a little repetitive (which took me out of the story a bit), the urge to get to the bottom of things - even though deep down you likely already suspect the ending - really swept me away!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse
eveningreverie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Exquisite from the setting to the word choice to the narrative voice to the introspection about childhood to the lost futures at the core. Ishiguro can truly do no wrong. This, the fourth book of his that I have read, has decidedly cemented him as one of my absolute favorite authors.
Another reviewer writes that “Kath was way too passive.” Funny how that works. I wonder if we could find some clues in this story as to why that might be the case. Guess we’ll never know!
Another reviewer writes that “Kath was way too passive.” Funny how that works. I wonder if we could find some clues in this story as to why that might be the case. Guess we’ll never know!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
maiahhtratchh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I wouldn’t say this book is plot or character driven as much as it is thematically driven. The book is so mysterious throughout but I still feel at the end that there were no real insights made and nothing was resolved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse and Terminal illness
Minor: Infertility
emmagreenwood's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment