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excavatinglizard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a stunningly beautiful book. There was little plot and I was often confused but I slowly made my way through anyway, and it was really just lovely. My thoughts aren’t quite clear enough to write a proper review, but read this book if you prefer novels centered around vibes and the human experience rather than plot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
chrisau's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Emotional and dreamlike, hard to follow at times but easy to lose yourself in. Beautiful stretches of prose interspersed with violence, war crimes, and scenes from a refugee camp. The main character is an AI programmer translating a Tamil manuscript written by a group of girls in a medical... school? college? cult? in a refugee camp in the 90s. The story alternates between her contemporary story, and this translation, two parallel narratives. Her story is also your story, because those chapters are written in the second person.
This book probably isn't for everyone. It was hard for me to pick a rating. If you like to daydream or get lost in words, I think you might like this.
This book probably isn't for everyone. It was hard for me to pick a rating. If you like to daydream or get lost in words, I think you might like this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and War
emco_0's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Sexual content
ka_cam's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this rumination on grief, porous boundaries between self and other, compassion and empathy, surveillance and morality, memory and history/narrative, art and AI. I thought the frequent second person narration really worked for me, especially to create the fluidity between the psyches/characters and reader(s)- making an immersive exploration of who are You and who are They, what is person/narrative/fiction and what happens when all those mix in new ways (via absorbing others memories) or old (translation, reading, and watching TV). I liked how dead narrators were brought in through their writings and recordings. I’d love to read this with a group, definitely a good candidate for re-reading. The style won’t be for everyone but it really did it for me with where I’m at rn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape and Abortion
Additional content warnings: self immolation, hunger, droughtryanlee's review against another edition
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, and Grief
Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Car accident and War