maresuju's review against another edition
Pretty early in the book, the MC has an interaction with a woman who might be Romani (he says that she reminds him of stories of Romani people). This section is filled with racial slurs and harmful stereotypes. The MC is immediately afraid of this woman and accuses her of tricking/cheating him, with no real explanation to the reader. His internal dialogue is pretty gross during this part, too, as he clearly doesn’t think this woman has any knowledge or understanding of the world. This might be a way for him to learn about his own prejudices, I don’t know. But there was nothing in the section indicating that, and what’s portrayed is a harmful and dangerous view of Romani people. This immediately made the book a DNF for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Racism
Minor: Animal death
caelysium's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and War
madscanread's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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? No
4.0
Formatted like a classic fable, this short novel focuses on an individual’s purpose in life while simultaneously discussing the interconnectivity of all things. Like any classic, the plot is infuriatingly circular.
Content Warnings
Minor: Xenophobia, War, and Religious bigotry
rianreads's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Racial slurs
avenclov's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, and Racism
Minor: War
clayslibrary's review against another edition
2.5
Well, this book felt like a waste of time… I can kind of see how some people might really like it, like in the way some people really like pop psychology self help books? But it felt uncomfortably racist and sexist to me and the plot was pretty boring and every other sentence sounds like someone trying to be profound and failing to say anything original at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexism
poirot's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Alcohol, War, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
melodyseestrees's review
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Animal death and Violence
meganpbennett's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
1.0
After seeing this book pop up multiple times in a short period of time, I decided to give it a try, as I needed a short book to read, one that I could finish before a book list reading challenge started at my library on September 01st.
It was difficult to follow, and the main characters having no names did not help matters. The boy isn't a particularly lovable main character, and he's naive enough that it stops being a good thing and becomes a slog. For such a short book with so much travel, nothing really happens. The boy learns a lot of things, but I felt like I was missing half of the story.
It was difficult to follow, and the main characters having no names did not help matters. The boy isn't a particularly lovable main character, and he's naive enough that it stops being a good thing and becomes a slog. For such a short book with so much travel, nothing really happens. The boy learns a lot of things, but I felt like I was missing half of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Violence, War, and Sexism
callmebella's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia