cgoiris's review against another edition
2.0
Amanda Palmer's "Drowning in the sound" did in a couple of minutes and a few notes what this book couldn't: convey the existential dread that comes with raising a child while the world around you is falling apart due to (climate) catastrophe.
The lack of world-building, explained away by the new mother's aversion for news programs, didn't help as the disaster is sort of supposed to be central to the plot. This makes the story miss a sort of urgency.
And yet, it's still a terrifying reminder of what will happen if we don't act now.
The lack of world-building, explained away by the new mother's aversion for news programs, didn't help as the disaster is sort of supposed to be central to the plot. This makes the story miss a sort of urgency.
And yet, it's still a terrifying reminder of what will happen if we don't act now.
oliviajwootton's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
jurassicreader's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
grimondgalgmod's review against another edition
2.0
There's some poetry in here but I doubt I'll ever think about this one again.
hannahepp's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
penelope2202's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
sanmeow's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.75
a dystopian novel about a woman who gives birth in the midst of an environmental crisis, and must find a way for both her and the baby to survive. a very interesting premise, which is why i decided to read the book in the first place. i'm really sad to say it disappointed me because i wanted to like it so bad. the writing style just annoyed me all throughout this. it made me feel so detached from the characters, which might've been the author's intention, but that's just not what i prefer in a book that i thought would be psychologically intricate. again, it might've been the intention, since i understand that it would connect with the dystopian apocalyptic theme. it's just really not my thing. some sentences were still quite pretty though, and i like the overall theme.
ida03a's review against another edition
2.0
This book was so weird and I honestly just pushed through because it was so short and don't like dbf'ing books. This books was supposed to be a dystopia, but didn't really give any explanation as to what had happened to society, they only use letters for names, which also is never explained either, and time just moves so quickly. There is never really any time to actually get to know the characters and so the story just becomes boring and confusing. The only redeeming factor of this book is that it has some nice prose and lyrical writing, but I still didn't enjoy it.
slowreadersclub's review against another edition
2.0
First of all, let me just say that this is NOT a bad book. I imagine it’s a great book if you like the kind of prose that is filled with metaphors and almost feels like poetry (I wish I did), but I always seem to struggle with writing like this, no matter how hard I try. The End We Start From by Megan Hunter was a very hard story for me to connect with; I found the writing to be frustratingly sparse which made it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story and I also felt no attachment to any of the characters (which for me is essential), as the narrator referred to each person by their first initial and you didn't get to learn a great deal about anyone. There are some sentences within the book that I found confusing and a little weird such as “from the nipple head-twist urine-musk times…” which I think perhaps goes back to the metaphoric, poetic prose thing again.
I wanted so much to like this book as the synopsis held so much promise. Whilst I feel the bones of the story are good, I would have liked it a lot more if it was a MEATY novel with much more depth than what we’re provided and because of this, for me, it just ultimately falls a bit flat.
I wanted so much to like this book as the synopsis held so much promise. Whilst I feel the bones of the story are good, I would have liked it a lot more if it was a MEATY novel with much more depth than what we’re provided and because of this, for me, it just ultimately falls a bit flat.