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bridgeman98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Dementia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent and War
contrary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
blau_elmo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A novel covering the stories of the different generations of a single family, some left a more lasting impact than others, but reading it gave me a better understanding of the turmoil of the Afghan people, as well as greater insight into the geopolitical climate of the region at the time.
Hosseini never fails to deliver his poignant stories of family, love, loss and his everpresent representation of his homeland.
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: War
cato_o's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
lesejaguar's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Suicide, Dementia, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
fe_aye's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
This book did not gel with me, it spends a vast majority of the narrative veering off into long winding tangents that end up having almost no contribution to the story of Pari and Abdullah. Granted I am biased as these sorts of theme based slice of life stories are not my thing at all, but this book spends 90% of its narrative around characters who have little to absolutely no interaction with the supposed central two characters of this story.
Pari and Abdullah don’t even appear in the book for over half of the pages, that is instead dedicated to lengthy descriptions of different characters who have a very shaky connection to these two at best and their lives. They are all interesting in their own ways but I would have preferred to stick to the narrative of the two siblings than this. It ended up feeling disjointed and more like a compilation of several shorter stories tied together by a central theme of family, which I don’t mind but the description for this book is a little misleading. It makes it sound like the entire book will be focused on Pari and Abdullah’s separation when that particular plot beat only takes up about 20% of the book.
Regardless this is still a wonderfully written piece of literature and I’m sure so many people will be able to see their own lives in this and connect with the characters and their situations in ways I couldn’t. I hope you found this experience more engaging than I did.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, and Classism
stellabyproxy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The rope that pulls you from the flood can become a noose around your neck.
yes, this is the story of brother and sister, of parent and child, but it is so much more. it is love, and loss, and secrets, and friendship, and the attempt to reconcile the holes in our hearts that grow wider, and deeper, with age and experience.
Out beyond ideas
of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
- Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th Century
Graphic: Dementia, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, and War
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
sadiaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I love that the book had multiple povs, I found each story engaging. However I found that there were almost too many different stories intersecting, anytime a pov started I would get into it and then suddenly the pov changed and we don't get to hear about what happens next. I was listening to the audiobook and when the povs changed, I found myself listening and trying to figure out who's pov it was. Took me out of the story a little.
The ending is bittersweet,
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
schnarlie's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, Dementia, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Murder, and War
Minor: Cancer and Physical abuse
amir_hamza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, and Sexual content