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nerdkitten's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Dementia
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Deportation
booksjessreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am struggling to summarise my thoughts for this novel into a coherent review, but I think this deserved three stars because the intellectual ideas behind this novel were good, but they were not carried out in a way that was interesting or engaging with the reader?
The setting was so magical and was definitely what drew me in to begin with. It was told in a folklore-ish way and was set in an ancient, fantasy world which felt so cosy and mysterious. Axl and Beatrice were also lovely characters, and whilst I was not completely drawn to them all of the time, their bond and love for one another was inspiring and loveable. However, I felt the story was super slow. I listened to the audio alongside this, and I even felt it was difficult through that. I also felt the third-person narrative did not suit the other stylistic choices that Ishiguro had chosen to tell the story with.
However, I still really enjoyed the themes running through the book, such as the idea of collective identity and memory and the complexity of emotions. I think the ideas behind them were really clever, but I just wish the book had been engaged with in a better way.
The setting was so magical and was definitely what drew me in to begin with. It was told in a folklore-ish way and was set in an ancient, fantasy world which felt so cosy and mysterious. Axl and Beatrice were also lovely characters, and whilst I was not completely drawn to them all of the time, their bond and love for one another was inspiring and loveable. However, I felt the story was super slow. I listened to the audio alongside this, and I even felt it was difficult through that. I also felt the third-person narrative did not suit the other stylistic choices that Ishiguro had chosen to tell the story with.
However, I still really enjoyed the themes running through the book, such as the idea of collective identity and memory and the complexity of emotions. I think the ideas behind them were really clever, but I just wish the book had been engaged with in a better way.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Dementia
Moderate: Murder and War
Minor: Child death and Infidelity
fallandfox's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Moderate: Death and Murder
piiiesk's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A beautiful book.
Moderate: Violence and Murder
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