gondorgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Grief, and Hate crime
kappafrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Spoiler
The conceit of Margaret narrating her whole life to Bird didn't always work when she was going into intimate details which were great for the reader but made less sense as dialogue with her son. I was also disappointed in the lack of information about the aftermath of Margaret's plan. We got a few flashforward glimpses but no information on the political fallout.The writing was really beautiful. I liked seeing the world through Bird's eyes, a child's perspective in a novel aimed at adults. I enjoyed the use of folktales, etymology, and gardening through out. There were many horrifying bits in the book. I can tell it will stay with me for a long time.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, and Deportation
Minor: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Islamophobia, and Slavery
cocacolor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Personally, as a Chinese American reader who's probably farther left than Ng, I found it embarrassing. Part of the novel still feels, to me, like an attempt to co-opt the suffering of Black and Indigenous communities, an almost childish, cynical attempt to insist, "Hey, Asian Americans have it bad, too, where's our solidarity?" Eventually my attitude toward the premise mellowed; Ng does make a good-faith effort to acknowledge that if the state using family separation as a tactic is news to you, that's willful blindness on your part, and to include the history of how this violence has been and is still being used against Black and Indigenous families, even if I don't think she goes far enough in that respect to really acknowledge who is actually being subjected to this tactic today.
Beyond the somewhat disrespectful nature of the premise, I found that Ng's writing suffered as well from its clumsy politics. There's none of the complexity of character from LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE or EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU here;
Spoiler
Bird and Margaret and Ethan are almost saintly, the resentments disappearing easily, seeming betrayals turning out to be partnership and devotion after all.Spoiler
sexual violence Margaret experiences at the hands of a copStill, Ng's half-hearted effort is beyond what most writers could achieve on their best day, and I don't want to hold Ng to a higher standard than I do her contemporaries; if I found OUR MISSING HEARTS to be clumsy or self-centered at times, I'd definitely feel the same and more of the vast majority of writers if they'd tried to write this novel. Her prose is as beautiful as ever, and understanding this novel is meant to be read as a fable about the power of art and narrative turns issues I'd had with the early parts of the book into unexpected joys. Overall, not as good as I hoped but not as bad as I feared. Still eagerly looking forward to Ng's next project.
Graphic: Hate crime, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Racism, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Police brutality, and Rape
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Minor: Child abuse and Bullying
Rape/sexual violence warning:Spoiler
Margaret remembers a cop demanding sexual favors from her in exchange for leaving her alone;elderwoodreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Xenophobia, Racism, Abandonment, Hate crime, Grief, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Violence, and Bullying
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Cursing, Excrement, Blood, and Death
write2run's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Racism, Kidnapping, Violence, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Confinement
elinawise's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual assault
whatwentsent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Gore, Death of parent, Police brutality, Racism, Xenophobia, Deportation, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, Death, Rape, and Forced institutionalization
vedpears'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
This should be considered an instant classic and to me is on par with 1984 and Animal Farm. Cautionary tales warning us all of the potential consequences if politics and media, and thus culture, continues on a certain trajectory.
It is incredible how many parts of Ng's book became reality while she was writing it. So many moments in this book have clear parallels in reality now, unfortunately. I hope we can turn American culture around and stop accepting the blind hate being paraded as patriotism.
I do have a favorite quote from this book - ""...unity required a common enemy. One box in which to collect all their anger. One strawman to wear the hats of everything they feared." This has been a worry of mine for a long time. Growing up here, it seemed really obvious to me that Americans need an enemy outside of us to focus on in order to come together and see one another as neighbors, or else we turn on each other. That is how our nation was born, so I suppose it makes sense that it is really hard for us to break away from that and learn healthier relationship skills, as a nation.
I feel this should be required reading.
Celeste Ng has solidified herself as my favorite modern day author.
Graphic: Trafficking, Xenophobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Stalking, Bullying, Classism, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, and Sexual assault
kimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Police brutality, Bullying, and Classism
internationalreads'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, War, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Classism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Trafficking