Reviews

White Tears by Hari Kunzru

saveloy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-paced

4.25

westonculture's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 I was drawn to this book by it's record collecting / music obsessive and cultural appropriation themes. I enjoyed it but found it a bit of a slog to finish (which is disconcerting when it's supposed to be a page-turner).

janey's review against another edition

5.0

Whoa. What a wild ride that one was. Holy cow.

sandra_buckwell's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Unsettling, ultimately sad.

stefc's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

mcchonchie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jaclyncrupi's review against another edition

3.0

This wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be and I spent a section of this book completely confused about what was going on. It becomes a ghost story and that's when the magic of it kicks in. In many ways this is the book Zadie Smith was trying to write with Swing Time. At its heart this book is about the theft of black music and black lives. There's lots of details about the blues and these were mostly lost on me but the message of the book resonated deeply.

freshbatchofbooks's review against another edition

challenging mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

nooneyouknow's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars. For the first two-thirds of this book, I thought “Oh good, this is one of those slightly off balance novels I like where something is just beyond my reach.” Then, after feeling a little lost for about 10 pages, I found myself racing toward the end chasing the powerful message that had been gathering like a storm from the beginning of the book. So, yeah, this started as one of those novels I like, but it finished as one of those novels I love.

adamthomasjones's review

challenging dark medium-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

2.75