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galaheadh's review against another edition
i know i never come back and do the reviews after book club, but i can't review this until after book club.
great book tho
great book tho
readingvonnie's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Such an important read. Wright really gets inside the mindsets of characters and the nuisances and complications for Aboriginal people living with integrity to Aboriginal culture within white mainstream Australian culture. Wrights exploration of the spiritual world is exceptional and I am so grateful for that window.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Murder, and Colonisation
deathofrats's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kendramaree's review
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A writing style totally different to standard Westernised English "ideals". Incredibly challenging to follow initially, but well worth sticking with it as it helped me reimagine writing entirely
rhiannon_hall_reads's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a little bit to get into the characters and story, but once I was in I was completely sucked in. A great read!
20000beesunderthesea's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hard work to read but worth the effort.
asililydying's review against another edition
3.75
very mythical and grandiose, an ever unraveling fable of a peoples and their colonial oppressors. structurally sort of nomadic, free-floating, and the influence of the oral tradition is immediately apparent. better than I am giving it credit for, I just had a tough time working through it from my place of intense aborigine cultural ignorance - this calls for more studying, including Praiseworthy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Gore, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Rape
dukegregory's review against another edition
5.0
The defining novel of the first half of 2024 for me. Partially due to it taking me two months to read this, even though I enjoyed my sporadic reading.
I'm moved by Wright's thematic push-and-pull between unity and disunity throughout. Waanyi people feud. White people whine. Nature avenges and destroys. Family ties disband. Business booms and blasts. History and myth pervade. The narrative throughline here proves to be orality; the narrator cannot be considered to follow a "stream-of-consciousness" mode, but their primary method is nonlinearity, an associative method that sounds like a tall tale, an incredibly playful, eloquent friend telling you a digressive story, yet the deepest effect appears to be the omnipresence of myth. The novel diverts weak claims of magical realism and instead operates in a register in which Waanyi myth imbues the natural world with character and characters exist both as human individuals and natural archetypes. There's both distance and intimacy. Wright's voice feels contemporary and timeless. One of the strongest novels of the 21st century thus far. Unironically believe Alexis Wright should be a major Nobel contender.
I'm moved by Wright's thematic push-and-pull between unity and disunity throughout. Waanyi people feud. White people whine. Nature avenges and destroys. Family ties disband. Business booms and blasts. History and myth pervade. The narrative throughline here proves to be orality; the narrator cannot be considered to follow a "stream-of-consciousness" mode, but their primary method is nonlinearity, an associative method that sounds like a tall tale, an incredibly playful, eloquent friend telling you a digressive story, yet the deepest effect appears to be the omnipresence of myth. The novel diverts weak claims of magical realism and instead operates in a register in which Waanyi myth imbues the natural world with character and characters exist both as human individuals and natural archetypes. There's both distance and intimacy. Wright's voice feels contemporary and timeless. One of the strongest novels of the 21st century thus far. Unironically believe Alexis Wright should be a major Nobel contender.
vithelovers's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
timahoi's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5