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nanc_282's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
Reading this book is a bit like training for a marathon. You have to really commit to the end point to get through the rough patches.
It’s got some brilliant parts <spoiler alert> I particularly enjoyed the adventures of little Michael and the dead dead gang <spoiler alert> and some monstrous descriptions of assault and abuse. At then end of it, I felt I could have walked through the Boroughs and known all the inhabitants. The links with Bunyan and Snowy Vernon pacing through time as a pilgrim, and William Blake’s Jerusalem are cleverly done.
But it is really long and it employs some narrative devices less successfully, one chapter is in verse, another in the style of Finnegan’s Wake.
It’s got some brilliant parts <spoiler alert> I particularly enjoyed the adventures of little Michael and the dead dead gang <spoiler alert> and some monstrous descriptions of assault and abuse. At then end of it, I felt I could have walked through the Boroughs and known all the inhabitants. The links with Bunyan and Snowy Vernon pacing through time as a pilgrim, and William Blake’s Jerusalem are cleverly done.
But it is really long and it employs some narrative devices less successfully, one chapter is in verse, another in the style of Finnegan’s Wake.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy
Minor: Slavery
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