thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Death, Blood, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Antisemitism
venlawmilia's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
lessice's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, and Sexual content
rossu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
viljaneito's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Nopealukuinen ja mielenkiintoinen, mutta välillä takkusi aika pahasti. Kiinnostava idea ja loistava loppu!
Nopealukuinen ja mielenkiintoinen, mutta välillä takkusi aika pahasti. Kiinnostava idea ja loistava loppu!
dlberglund's review against another edition
3.0
Finnish modern fiction with some fairy tale thrown in. I liked it for the most part, but could suspend my disbelief only so far...It didn't feel so much like a love story as it did a sad story. It was interesting to follow the main character's changes through the book. How often do you get to read Finnish fiction?
mysimas's review against another edition
3.5
I enjoyed this one. I was also disgusted by some aspects of it, which was probably the author’s intention — but why exactly she intended to disgust her readers with the inclusion of pedophilic themes is beyond me. As if the zoophilia wasn’t bad enough.
Her overall approach to the trolls as a species reminded me of Čapek’s War with the Newts, in which the newts were also discussed with the help of several ‘scientific’ documents as well as other written texts of various forms. While Čapek made all of them up himself, Sinisalo seems to have found actual pre-existing literary texts involving trolls? As I’m not Finnish, I only managed to read The Unknown Soldier and don’t recall if the fleeing mention of trolls had been there originally.
Some parts of the book were a tad ridiculous. Some of them I ascribe to the translation, which was at times a little clunky; for other parts the author is clearly responsible, such as the ending.
Also on a sidenote, Angel really needs to find a better nickname, because towards Dr. Spiderman, Palomita and Pessi, he was anything but. (Especially Palomita. How could he just leave her??) Heck, even the icky Ecke deserved a better treatment. The only guy worse than Angel was the advertisement dude, and that’s such a low bar.
Her overall approach to the trolls as a species reminded me of Čapek’s War with the Newts, in which the newts were also discussed with the help of several ‘scientific’ documents as well as other written texts of various forms. While Čapek made all of them up himself, Sinisalo seems to have found actual pre-existing literary texts involving trolls? As I’m not Finnish, I only managed to read The Unknown Soldier and don’t recall if the fleeing mention of trolls had been there originally.
Some parts of the book were a tad ridiculous. Some of them I ascribe to the translation, which was at times a little clunky; for other parts the author is clearly responsible, such as the ending.
Spoiler
If the book ever gains a wider fandom, I will be here, waiting for the fun Bonnie and Clyde-esque romp of Mikael and the trolls. The crack is gonna write itself, folks!Also on a sidenote, Angel really needs to find a better nickname, because towards Dr. Spiderman, Palomita and Pessi, he was anything but. (Especially Palomita. How could he just leave her??) Heck, even the icky Ecke deserved a better treatment. The only guy worse than Angel was the advertisement dude, and that’s such a low bar.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
Minor: Pedophilia
elenavarg's review against another edition
2.0
The ending of this book was kinda ridicilous, but at least the most of the book was entertaining. It bothers me that the English bame for this book is so boring though. Thank god I'm Finnish and I can get the song "Päivänsäde ja Menninkäinen" stuck in my head everytime I think about the book's original name.
(Wow, my first review in Goodreads!!)
(Wow, my first review in Goodreads!!)