chaoticnostalgia'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
4.25
Graphic: War, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Excrement, and Car accident
Minor: Infidelity
cerilouisereads'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Racism, and War
rhi_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, War, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Grief, Suicide, and Genocide
Minor: Sexual harassment and Drug use
savvylit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Death, and Death of parent
musubi_mumma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Violence, War, Death, Death of parent, and Drug use
wordsareworlds'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? It's complicated
4.5
I also found the layers of storytelling Hamid used very interesting. There is Saeed and Nadia's relationship, and one step out we get to know a bit about people who intersect their lives and often how those people die or another detail from their future, and then also more about the war that has now most definitely come to their city, and then snippets of separate, apparently unrelated events around the world. There is a surreal quality to Hamid's descriptions. They simultaneously feel a step removed and immediate. All of this is related as past events, and without much explicit or long description of the characters' feelings, but the events and their actions make those feelings abundantly clear and impactful. I spent a lot of time thinking about why Hamid chose to give us glimpses into specific moments in Saeed and Nadia's lives, and which side characters he chose to give us more details about. Each choice felt very deliberate and like it built on what was going on around them in a complex and nuanced way.
The book overall was very interesting, and the ways that the doors changed some things about immigration and otherness and not others were layered and complex. I enjoyed Saeed, Nadia, and the evolution of their relationship. Also very, very happy about having a bi South Asian MC whose sexuality wasn't a source of angst or persecution. The book has a sense of ebb and flow about it, and that neither happiness nor sadness is all-encompassing or static, and the doors don't change that but make both more accessible and immediate to people's lives.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and War
hngisreading'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
4.0
Graphic: War, Murder, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual assault
_fallinglight_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual assault, and War
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
chloew130'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Murder, War, Death, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Violence
moonytoast's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
maybe would’ve rated this higher if there weren’t sentences verging on seven or more lines long…. if it would necessitate a block quote, it shouldn’t be a single sentence! trust me, this is coming from a resident long sentence girlie who constantly got feedback about how long my sentences were in my essays for high school.
all in all though, this was a nice read and an interesting examination of how magical realism could impact our world’s sociopolitical climate and policies (i.e. nativism and immigration politics).
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, War, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia, Drug use, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury