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page_not_found's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Blood, Police brutality, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Racism, Pregnancy, War, and Deportation
maregred's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abandonment, and War
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is a very moving tale of love within the forbidden and hidden, of innocence lost and found, of the duality of cruelty and kindness in humanity.
The writing is beautiful, like poetry, flowing like streams of consciousness from our protagonist, Ludwik, intent on finding himself in the world. His inner turmoil over his attraction to the same sex, his struggles with opening up to someone, his freedom from the Party’s ideologies. His love for Janusz and his lust for a different life. My heart broke for him in his journey for happiness and truth. I desperately wanted to give him a hug.
A melancholy novel rich with history and emotional ups and downs. Simply excellent.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Pregnancy
ravensruin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Outing
Minor: Hate crime, Antisemitism, Grief, and Alcohol
nefariousbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
first, I'm a gen Z Czech person. I didn't live thru socialism but my parents did. at first, I was happy that the Slav authors finally seemed to start leaving ww2 behind and we can focus on more recent historical events that prominently shared our societies.
the issue is tho. this doesn't feel like a Pole wrote it. there's that typical self-righteousness of a westerner, writing about the underprivileged. and I hate it, it makes my hairs stand up, makes me see red.
and I'm sure there were good intentions, I'm sure the woke westerners will be swooning. but it feels like we're being put in a terrarium to be studied and pitied. it feels like it's saying that everyone who stayed is a loser or a bootlicker. it makes the westerners believe they'd also leave, like our protagonist, they would stand tall and proud. it does nothing to comment on the system, to try to create some nuance, to even describe the ordinary lives of the people to try the reader to relate.
there's much to say and I don't care enough to write and edit it all. if you want a book about socialist Poland, find a polish author, preferably one that lived thru it.
and let me recommend you Operation Hyacinth on the topic of being gay in socialist Poland.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Police brutality
Moderate: Sexual content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Alcohol
kwichris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia and Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Vomit, Police brutality, and Medical content
abicaro17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism
maess's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
samdalefox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Other community members' review's I largely agree with:
- danielctr's review - "...I simply could not get myself to care very much about the main relationship between Ludwik and Janusz. Also I feel that the main focus of the book is quite unclear...."
- randomheart's review - "...I think my main problem with this novel was that, other than the physical magnetic pull that Ludwik and Janusz had for one another, I didn't really see why they would fall in love with each other on a deeper level. I needed more depth and substance to their relationship. If I had been more invested in their relationship, the politics driving them apart would have hit me in a more substantial manner too. I really wanted to FEEL the angst and conflict between them, but it all just felt a little too anticlimactic to me in the end. Janusz kind of felt too mysterious to me throughout for me to fully connect with as well. I just needed more overall..."
Quotes:
"It felt as if the words and the thoughts of the narrator—despite their agony, despite their pain—healed some of my agony and my pain, simply by existing."
"You can't make people love you the way you want them to"
"Because you were right when you said that people can’t always give us what we want from them; that you can’t ask them to love you the way you want"
“No matter what happens in the world, however brutal or dystopian a thing, not all is lost if there are people out there risking themselves to document it. Little sparks cause fires, too.”
"We are just queuing for a possibility. Queuing for something. Maybe queuing for nothing." ...
"But it will pass, even the longest queue dissolves eventually"
"To my own surprise, I was unable to accept the shame he wanted me to feel. It was too familiar to be imposed. I had produced it for myself for such a long time that right then I found I had no space left for it anymore."
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
readsbymoonlight's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use, Hate crime, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War