Reviews

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian

skynet666's review against another edition

2.0

I don’t know why but I didn’t enjoy this story ami dod t care about the characters either.

sam_is_reading's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

3.5 stars. This was an incredibly interesting story. Bohjalian always writes intersting characters and I as the reader was heavily invested in their plight, wanting them to persevere. Each chapter switched POV, giving us glimpses into the characters' past sandwiched by their current high-stakes situation.

I did think that one of the characters' POV was unnecessarily, only because his path never directly intersected/overlapped with anyone else's. I also thought the ending was abrupt, with a short epilogue that didn't provide as much resolution as I'd like. 

Overall another great book of characters by Chris Bohjalian!

carpentd's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

madisonpaiges's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

debral's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

kelly_inthe419's review against another edition

3.0

This may be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but the Lioness was just an "okay" read for me despite having a nearly 4-star rating on Goodreads. I seem to have an up and down relationship with Chris Bohjalian's books. Some I have loved and would absolutely recommend (Skeletons at the Feast, Sandcastle Girls) and some that I didn't think were nearly as good. Unfortunately, The Lioness falls into the second category for me.

There were a lot of characters and each chapter was told from the point of view of one of the characters. My favorites were Carmen and Hollywood agent Reggie, who represents both Carmen and Hollywood icon Katie Barstow. I loved hearing their voices but then the story would jump to another POV just as I was settling in to their stories.

The family history and background of Katie, and her big brother Billy, was also fascinating and
heartbreaking. I was really interested in learning more about how the two formed such different personalities and strengths and weaknesses in the face of such a traumatic upbringing.

Ultimately, however, I found I was never really vested in the characters or what happened to them. The plot was tragic and somewhat predictable - although I did enjoy the final twist with the surviving characters. I did listen to this on audiobook and while I liked the narrator, I wonder if it would be better in print to better understand the multiple characters.

Thank you to PRH Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This final quote really got me as it's as true today as in the book's 1964 setting:

“The rhinos know we’re a threat, and the lions have learned we can be very risky prey,” Muema said, with that lovely professorial lilt to this voice. “But to the Russians and Americans? We’re just pawns on the chess board. Harmless and expendable.”

elineedsmoreshelves's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

holly_suds55's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

eyedrop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

2.0

kathryndouglas's review against another edition

2.0

Bruh I had so much hope. Old Hollywood vibes, a safari in the 1960s, and all the potential of the African savanna. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. A group of Hollywood “lions” go on safari and instead of enjoying the animals and having fun taking in all the gorgeous scenery it’s an insanely violent bloodbath. I don’t have any issue with consuming violence in media, but I think that the violence in this novel was excessive. A lot of it was just unnecessary. And (spoiler alert) the fact that almost every character in the main cast perished on this trip was underwhelming. After the third person died yet another violent and bloody death, I was like, “ok great, can we get some actual plot, please?” There was so much trying to be achieved here with the political atmosphere of the world in the 1960s, discussion of race in Hollywood and hostage situations, etc. but none of it was done particularly well. There was too much going on, but it feels like nothing happened. There were too many POVs, too many characters we were supposed to know, and too much jumping between the present and the past. It was just really confusing for most of the book. Cannot recommend and I will not be reading any more of Chris Bohjalian in the future.