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sandramarinis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Wow! One of the best books I've ever read. The amount of planning it takes to make this storyline make sense is incredible. I LOVED HER WRITING STYLE. It made me reflect a lot about my own existence and fear of the world ending and of technological development.
This book intertwines timelines in a seamless way that leaves you feeling like a detective trying to understand the order of all the events. It has amazing build up and will give you shivers when the storylines connect. The author writes in such a way that makes you really understand the time and place surrounding the characters who live within them.
My favorite quotes:
1. "My personal belief is that we turn to postapocalyptic fiction not because we're drawn to disaster, per se, but because we're drawn to what we imagine might come next. We long secretly for a world with less technology in it." (page 191). This hit so hard and also felt like the author was breaking the fourth wall.
2. I think, as a species, we have a desire to believe that we're living at the climax of the story. It's a kind of narcissism. We want to believe that we're uniquely important, that we're living at the end of history, that now, after all these millennia of false alarms, now is finally the worst that it's ever been, that finally we have reached the end of the world." (page 189).
The moon colonies freaked me out. It sounded so incredibly sad to live in a technological reality instead of earth. Especially with the fake sky and fake weather within the dome.
I also found it heartbreaking that Olive kept thinking about the fact that she was supposed to die in the pandemic. The whole part where she left earth convinced that she had been warned of her upcoming death, and then her husband doubted her sanity, was SUCH GOOD WRITING. It was so exciting!!! I was like š®š®š®!
Gaspery pretending to follow the rules from the time Institute, just to do the opposite had me like šš¬š
Gaspery is such a thrill seeker and clearly couldn't let his curiosity be unexplored
This book intertwines timelines in a seamless way that leaves you feeling like a detective trying to understand the order of all the events. It has amazing build up and will give you shivers when the storylines connect. The author writes in such a way that makes you really understand the time and place surrounding the characters who live within them.
My favorite quotes:
1. "My personal belief is that we turn to postapocalyptic fiction not because we're drawn to disaster, per se, but because we're drawn to what we imagine might come next. We long secretly for a world with less technology in it." (page 191). This hit so hard and also felt like the author was breaking the fourth wall.
2. I think, as a species, we have a desire to believe that we're living at the climax of the story. It's a kind of narcissism. We want to believe that we're uniquely important, that we're living at the end of history, that now, after all these millennia of false alarms, now is finally the worst that it's ever been, that finally we have reached the end of the world." (page 189).
The moon colonies freaked me out. It sounded so incredibly sad to live in a technological reality instead of earth. Especially with the fake sky and fake weather within the dome.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Pandemic/Epidemic
emmagreenwood's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
caebrown's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Colonisation
pacifickat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*review pending*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Grief
Minor: Mental illness and Alcohol
Child neglect, memory problems, hallucinations, difficulty discerning realitykaty_bee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
I really like Emily St John Mandel's writing style, although as I said I'm my review of station 11- I can see it isn't for everyone.
There's an obvious author insert character which I wasn't sure about at first but I came round to it.
The first few chapters meander and you have to wait for it to come together, it did for me and it was beautiful
There's an obvious author insert character which I wasn't sure about at first but I came round to it.
The first few chapters meander and you have to wait for it to come together, it did for me and it was beautiful
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Minor: Suicide
jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow, what an extraordinary novel. Time travel novels seem really hard to do without glaring anomalies in the timeline. Iām in awe of people who even try to come up with such complex stories. (The Time Travelerās Wife is a successful one.)
The feel of the book is like Mandelās Station Eleven - so many tiny revelations of connection and meaning. The format is like David Mitchellās Cloud Atlas where the first and last sections are the same story, the second and next-to-last are the same story, and so on, finally meeting in the middle. Itās a fascinating way to tell a tale - there are so many subtle intricacies.
I enjoyed Mandelās sardonic humor in her references to what clearly had been her own experience: being queried at readings in 2020-2021 about her prescient pandemic storyline in Station Eleven, her bewilderment that her first books passed under the radar till Station Eleven hit it big and she was suddenly famous.
I think this book is just fabulous. Itās a beautiful story about humanity across the centuries.
The feel of the book is like Mandelās Station Eleven - so many tiny revelations of connection and meaning. The format is like David Mitchellās Cloud Atlas where the first and last sections are the same story, the second and next-to-last are the same story, and so on, finally meeting in the middle. Itās a fascinating way to tell a tale - there are so many subtle intricacies.
I enjoyed Mandelās sardonic humor in her references to what clearly had been her own experience: being queried at readings in 2020-2021 about her prescient pandemic storyline in Station Eleven, her bewilderment that her first books passed under the radar till Station Eleven hit it big and she was suddenly famous.
I think this book is just fabulous. Itās a beautiful story about humanity across the centuries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
novella42's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicide
maelikesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I donāt usually like time travel stories, but this was a perfect one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Deportation
Minor: Child abuse
pearlisarobot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I would give this book 10/5 if I could. Itās so beautifully written that āperfectā is the best way to describe it. This is science fiction that is so deeply based on reality that it is 100% believable. This could be our future. This might *need* to be our future. It was a little confusing at the start, because we spend only a little time with each character, but by the half way point I was enthralled. I loved how all the characters tied in together and the ending was *chefās kiss*.
I will definitely be reading more of Emily St John Mandel.
I will definitely be reading more of Emily St John Mandel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail