tbd24'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
4.75
Spoiler
Rami and Robin were only ever subtext, I would have been a bit more satisfied if they had a proper conversation about it, even once, especially since they were gonna die in the end anyway so what did the author have to lose. I feel like the reason it was never explicit is because the author didn’t know how to write a conversation like that and still keep the historical realism, though others have done this well. idk, it just disappointed meGraphic: Cultural appropriation, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Torture, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Trafficking, Addiction, Islamophobia, Ableism, Toxic friendship, War, Slavery, and Sexism
jelliestars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Torture, Colonisation, Gun violence, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Murder, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gore, Torture, Child abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Classism, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, War, and Addiction
Minor: Child death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Trafficking, Car accident, Genocide, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Vomit, Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders
scmiller's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, War, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Addiction, Infidelity, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Drug abuse, and Vomit
jamesdaniel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, War, Sexism, Violence, Colonisation, Racism, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Murder, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Trafficking, Suicide, Death, Classism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Gun violence
Minor: Body horror, Medical trauma, Blood, and Antisemitism
solarel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Conceptually the book discussed important themes with no subtlety, but there was nothing there to keep attention to. A bit disappointing.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, War, Death of parent, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse
shymoon'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Trafficking, Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
aisclaradm'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
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Toxic friendship, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Drug abuse, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Trafficking, War, Drug use, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Cultural appropriation and Alcohol
rnbhargava'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
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Xenophobia, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Violence, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Stalking, War, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Confinement, Death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Rape, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
All the themes said to be triggers are present, particularly the race and religion ones. There’s a scene where it appears that female characters could hypothetically be assaulted. The racism and discrimination on religion angles are throughout the book. The major theme of the book is reconciling existing within educational institutions in the west while the same people you’re learning from are harming your original homelands, whether you remember them or not, and the moral plus political repercussions of that.asifsyed'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Slavery, Misogyny, Grief, Drug abuse, and Gun violence
Minor: Torture, Police brutality, War, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
tinyjude'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
Thus, the novel explores and discusses topics such as systemic racism, colorism, slavery, colonialism and the ways in which the latter works to increase the power of the Empire. These are characters who have been extracted from their homelands and treated as assets (Robin-Canton, Ramy-Calcutta, Victoire-Haiti; Letty is the only white British woman in their group). They are the language they speak because that is valuable for the Crown, but they are nothing more than devices, another instance of colonizers exploiting colonized people and taking away their languages, culture, etc...
Some reviews complain about timelines (the author stated at the beginning that it was a piece of fiction and some changes were made to accomodate the plot) and the use of anacronisms like "whiteness" as we understand it today, but I like them. After all, this text speaks to a modern audience, us, and even though at that time they didn't have a word for this thing, now that we do, we should use it.
The novel reads in some parts much like an academic paper, as it deals in depth with etymology, linguistics, history, a little bit of literature, philosophy and politics. So, as a language nerd who could recognize from my degree studies and further research, many of the authors, concepts, explanations and dilemmas discussed, I was elated. Like a cat smelling catnip or their favourite treat. Nevertheless, that didn't make it a dense book for me, in fact, it just sparkled my interest in languages even more.
Other people feel like it was a bit too-much-on-your-nose or handholding the reader through the book. They argue that it feels patronizing, as if we wouldn't be able to recognize the problems, the racist comments they receive, without the characters pointing it out. For people well versed in these topics and who have lived through all of these experiences, it's normal to think it was too much. Nonetheless, I think it was still useful, it will be useful for people who are starting to deconstructe themselves. Furthermore, I kind of love how she hammered into every paragraph thousands of critiques, moral dilemmas about justice, rightness, exploitatin, betrayal, belonging, grief, privilege, class, race and gender differences. Because I love angry characters full of spite and vengeful thoughts. As with Rin in The Poppy Wars, I was all in with Robin and the necessity of violence to occur for an Empire or an entire system to fall. And I am also fond of lots of descriptions :D
Moreover, the intricate relationship between translation and betrayal, translation and commodification, translation and colonization, translation and identity... It was exquisite and a very beautiful defense on why preserving every single language in the world is such an important task, as it is not just about the language, but also, culture, history, identity, a whole world behind that cannot be replaced or reconstructed. A richness that must be preserved.
Finally, Victorie, my love. You are so strong and one of my favourite characters. Ramy, you were the best of them all, since your first appearance I knew you would be my favourite. Robin, oh Robin and his constant dilemmas, feeling as if he was living two lives, as if he was never complete. I loved his character development. And Letty... Fuck you!
Spoiler
I knew she wouldn't get it (and I say this being a white person) and I wanted to punch her so bad. She was so disrespecftul, racist, classist, self-centered, selfish, self-victimicizing, arrogant, ignorant... She could have listened, but she didn't want to see the truth because it was ugly and it proved she was part of the problem. She was a coward and a terrible friend. She never loved them as they loved her. She never made the effort to go beyond her prejudices, she never put herself on their shoes. She enraged me so much. AND SHE FUCKING KILLED RAMY IN COLD BLOOD, HER SUPPOSED FRIEND ON WHOM SHE HAD A CRUSH ON, JUST BECAUSE HE REJECTED HER AND IT HURT HER WHITE EGO ???? JAIL TIME, GO TO HELLFinal thought, did anyone else read some intense feelings between Robin and Ramy or was it just me? Romantic or really really platonic that go beyond their friendship in the group, like soulmates kinda.
Spoiler
specially given Robin's reaction and fixation on Ramy's death among all of the Hermes Society's members and his memory of him on that first day before Robin dies, which is so idyllic and queer coded in my opinionGraphic: Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Sexism, Islamophobia, Slavery, War, Addiction, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Classism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia