Reviews

Red Pill by Hari Kunzru

laicsouza's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

ninetytimesnine's review

challenging dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

krik_van_gelis's review against another edition

3.0

Ωραία ιδέα, ένα βιβλίο που σε πολλά σημεία έχει πυκνό νοηματικά λόγο και ασχολείται με σύγχρονα ζητήματα. Κεντρικός άξονας είναι η αποκτήνωση και ο ατομικισμός. Γεμάτο προβληματισμούς, από το φαινόμενο του εκφασισμού μέχρι προβληματικές για το πώς δρουν οι ευαίσθητοι και προοδευτικοί άνθρωποι στη σύγχρονη κοινωνία. Η ιστορία , ή μάλλον οι ιστορίες είναι κάπως ασύνδετες, κάποιοι χαρακτήρες στερούνται συνοχής (πχ η Μόνικα ή ο υπάλληλος που παρακολουθεί από τις κάμερες, ακόμη και ο Άντον είναι ένα χαρακτήρας κάπως ημιτελής) αν και είναι εμφανής ο σκοπός της ύπαρξης τους. Οι προβληματισμοί επίκαιροι (ανησυχητικά στη Ελλάδα του καλοκαιριού του '23 ανάμεσα από τις εκλογικές μάχες). Ο συγγραφέας ξεκινάει και δημιουργεί μια παρανοϊκή δίνη, στην οποία δυστυχώς της λείπει η κορύφωση. Το μεγαλύτερο μέρος του βιβλίου το απόλαυσα. Το τελευταίο κομμάτι, από την επιστροφή στην Αμερική έως τις εκλογές του 2016, όμως είναι αυτό που με περιόρισε στα 3 αστέρια. Το προτείνω απλά αφήνει μια γεύση ανολοκλήρωτου.

greenranger666's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

wrens's review against another edition

2.0

Honestly don't really know what this book is? I'm sure there's some meaning, and there is a vague sense that something is at stake regarding the polarisation of the politics in America, but it's all energy and no follow-up. And the language used in this is like if I was reading an academics essay, but with prose. It's very weird and I found myself skimming pages because I was uninterested, though I enjoyed some passages that were never mentioned or referenced again :∆

cami19's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.0

bellaw_7's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

1.0

mystifiedbulb22's review against another edition

2.0

While I do fundamentally agree with the book's sentiment that community and love are essential tools in overpowering the rise of the far-right, I found this book really hard to mesh with. The main character is (deliberately) a pain in the arse, and the writing, while at points achingly poignant, veers into a deep-set anxiety that I personally don't mesh with.
I think that perhaps this book was mis-marketed, as the blurb and online press releases presented the book as something quite different to what it actually turned out to be. I was hoping for a bit more interrogation about online communities that foster and develop hate-groups, rather than a novel that focused on a very abrupt "red-pilling" incident.

nickel_is_neat's review

4.0

Crazy. I'm still feeling emotional. I liked it all, although the end less so. It makes the book feel more bound to reality than I felt while reading it.

lanagabriela99's review

4.0

3.75