Reviews

Bloemen van de duisternis by Tatiana de Rosnay

danaegm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I felt like the book started to sound more and more like a translation towards the end. Was that intentional, or laziness?

angelamirode's review against another edition

4.0

Un roman dystopique frais et original !
Tatiana de Rosnay se distingue dans ce roman qui allie à la fois la vie normale d’une autrice et l’intelligence artificielle.
Clarisse l’héroïne principale essaie de se défaire de son passé douloureux en entrant dans un projet spécial de “La CASA ” qui loge les artistes en leur attribuant une IA pour s’occuper d’eux.
Clarisse a pourtant l’impression d’être observée à son insu. Est-ce seulement de la paranoïa ?
J’ai adoré découvrir ce livre qui me change de mes lectures habituelles et qui a su me tenir en haleine jusqu’à la fin.

myrranda5002's review against another edition

3.0

This was a really quick read but very interesting. The over all idea of the story was super interesting but the ending left me with lack luster.

mjhoke68's review against another edition

4.0

I finally picked up this book I won from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I give this book 3.5-4 stars. It wasn’t a comfortable, warm and fuzzy read. The setting is in the future after global warming and technology have changed the landscape of Europe. The main character has been through many trials but she is likeable and I rooted for her as I read the book. It was very different from the only other book I have read by Tatiana de Rodney, Sarah’s Key but both will be memorable to me which says a lot about the author’s unique storytelling ability.

illusie's review against another edition

2.0

Instead of the thriller I expected, this was more a science fiction novel. It was a bit out of my comfort zone. I like Tatiana de Rosnay's writing, but this book didn't interest me as much as the previous books I have read by this author. There were some unexpected twists which I liked, but the ending felt rushed.

faithemt's review against another edition

4.0

wow! Another well written novel by one of my very fave contemporary authors. I just love Tatiana!! I sure wish I https://goldintheclouds-faith.blogspot.com/2021/06/2021-book-review-17-flowers-of-darkness.html meet her in person. I did enjoy a You Tube video interview I watched of her talking about this novel. Highly recommend. It's gripping. It's powerful. It's compelling.

My complete review is found here:

https://goldintheclouds-faith.blogspot.com/2021/06/2021-book-review-17-flowers-of-darkness.html

jess_mango's review against another edition

4.0

My book club (and I think every other book club) read [b:Sarah's Key|556602|Sarah's Key|Tatiana de Rosnay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438863728l/556602._SX50_.jpg|2523229] back around 2006 when it first came out. That is the only book that I've read by Tatiana de Rosnay, so in my mind I had her in the WWII Historical Fiction author category. Well, color me surprised when this latest release from de Rosnay is NOT historical fiction but is instead near future fiction. The book is still set in Paris, like Sarah's Key, but has a completely different vibe.

Clarissa Katsef is an author living in Paris in the years following a series of terrorist attacks and climate change. The city is a much different place than we know today. Bees are extinct so flowers are very rare, deadly heat waves strike regularly. Clarissa has recently left her 2nd husband after he's betrayed her. She winds up living in a new ultra modern artist's residence where all of the apartments are occupied by writers, painters and the like. Each unit is wired with a Virtual Personal Assistant (think Alexa or Siri) and the residents must undergo regular health evaluations run by the mirror in their bathrooms. Clarissa starts becoming paranoid about her living situation and ropes in her teenaged granddaughter to help her investigate.

So, this ended up being way more suspenseful than I would've thought initially. But, I really enjoyed the ride! There were themes of betrayal, grief and moving on. There was also a lot about "sense of place", which was actually on of the main focuses of Clarissa's writing. I recommend this book to anyone who thinks that the Siri, GoogleHome, and Alexa are going to take over the world. ;)

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

mollykeener's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.0

This book was on track to be a solid 3 star read, possibly rising to 4. But the wholly unsatisfying ended sank it to a 2. Sometimes unresolved, ambiguous endings that let readers decide the outcome are successful—not this time. Given the piercing authenticity with which the author crafts a near-future world of AI oversight, soaring temperatures, and fake gardens, to not resolve whether it is manipulation or imagination was weak. And the mistress? Ew.

crafalsk264's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

Clarissa Katsef is an author began publication of her work in her 50s. As such, she is one of the oldest residents selected for an apartment in a new building specifically designed for artists. The building was brand new with state of the art features including an AI virtual assistant that controls  everything in the apartment from the lighting and climate control to the shopping and reception of Clarissa’s phone and email notices. Clarissa is escaping from her adulterous husband and desperate to find a new apartment. She has a daughter in her forties, a granddaughter in her teens. Her 98 year old father, a first husband and her current husband complete her family. 

From her first day in the apartment, Clarissa has an undeniable feeling of being watched. Her AI (Mrs. Dalloway) seems to be taking over more and more of her life. As Clarissa descends into depression, confusion, and extreme distrust of others grows, the reader becomes aware that she is living in a dystopian and Paris is no longer the world she has lived in.

De Rosnay incorporates aging, trust, identity, and a place in the world. The drama plays out in a refurbished Paris where there are no real flowers, birds and natural scents and sounds. The book considers how a society deals with life altering cataclysmic events and their aftermath. Clarissa’s journey of discovery is a turbulent upheaval of the life she thinks she knows and her place within it. The POV changes from a third party narrator to a first person perspective in pages from a notebook that Clarissa keeps regarding her feelings and efforts to understand what has happened to her. The book examines a sense of place and the weight of secrets. It also looks at some of the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on our daily lives.

I enjoyed this book but found some of it disturbing. The author did a good job of setting up the atmosphere of a dystopian world built on familiar elements. The suspense definitely grew and deepened throughout the first 75% of the novel before taking a surprise twist that ended the story in a totally unexpected way. I think a lot about what kind of world we would have after a cataclysmic event(s). Recommend to readers of mysteries, thrillers, suspense, science fiction, dystopian societies and artificial intelligence.

kemlynnhotmailcom's review against another edition

3.0

Original idea, not as clear in the storying telling as I like.