Reviews with content warning for Child death - Bewilderment

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

76 reviews

moscat's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

I found this a difficult read. It's good but kinda destroyed me too.

In places I found the speculative technology side difficult to buy into only because the world as presented was so viscerally real. We genuinely are living through an apocalyptic devastation of life and empathy and largely pretending we're not in the interest of shareholders. There is a line about three quarters of the way through that pays off the speculative side quite smartly which helped me get on board with it.

I struggled with the ending. Part of me wishes there was a simpler version of this book that just explored the childlike joy of the magic we live in and the anger at our mistreatment of it but I understand it needs more plot than that. Not totally sure how I feel about this tbh. But it is good.

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enoemo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

so. many. emotions.
The main character is really flawed and makes a lot of mistakes, and also definitely doesn't always see things for how they are but I think that is what makes his dilemma so deeply emotional and relatable in a way? Also I finished reading this on election day and that just hits different, ahhhh.

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chloelundrigan's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

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aviabraham's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

2.0

This book was such a freaking bummer. I loved the overstory a lot which is the only reason I read this, since it’s really not my usual kind of book, but I was super disappointed. The narrator is the most boring, annoying character in the story. I found the way the author talks about women to be bizarre and dehumanizing. The ending felt rushed and didn’t make sense with the rest of the narrative. Would not recommend.

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astridrv's review against another edition

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The hardest book to review this year.
I love Powers’ writing - yes it’s grandiose and saccharine and dramatic and I love it. Some pages left me breathless - the space chapters?? Perfection.
It felt cathartic to have my gut feelings about the climate crisis put unflinchingly in words.
I do think the books has some interesting things to say about neurodivergence: to which extend is the society we are supposed to function in even desirable? What treatment helps you to live, what treatment changes you, what doesn’t change you, why does it matter? What do we owe our children and ourselves? How to parent with a broken heart in a broken world?
But I also feel really conflicted about how Robbie’s autism was dealt with in the book, and I’m really upset by the ending, that is so seeped in the ableist trope of “ultra sensitive being representing humanity’s consciousness and downfall” when he is just a young human who deserves care and guidance and happiness.
I can sense that it was written with nothing but love, but I have big issues with it.

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