jelmar's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
gingerlaura's review against another edition
4.0
To be honest I'm not a big fan of dutch literature, but I actually enjoyed this book. Although the story started of slow, it slowly started to develop until I was really intrigued by the story line.
What made the book special in my opinion was the fact that everything you could think of was written down. For example, when Alfred is walking 25 kilometers and starts to get tired, he counts his steps and is encouraging himself to continue his journey. Every normal person does this (at least I think so) but to see it actually written down on paper shocked me a little. Alfred's thoughts fly everywhere and I think Hermans did a great job by writing down all of them.
The plot itself was evenly surprising, I didn't expect a lot of things to happen and normally plots don't really surprise me because most of the time they are very predictable.
I rated the book 4 stars and not 5 because of the slow beginning, but if you're searching for some refreshing literature you should definitely read this!
What made the book special in my opinion was the fact that everything you could think of was written down. For example, when Alfred is walking 25 kilometers and starts to get tired, he counts his steps and is encouraging himself to continue his journey. Every normal person does this (at least I think so) but to see it actually written down on paper shocked me a little. Alfred's thoughts fly everywhere and I think Hermans did a great job by writing down all of them.
The plot itself was evenly surprising, I didn't expect a lot of things to happen and normally plots don't really surprise me because most of the time they are very predictable.
I rated the book 4 stars and not 5 because of the slow beginning, but if you're searching for some refreshing literature you should definitely read this!
artemis_777's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
liekesmits's review against another edition
5.0
Favoriete zin: ‘Het is mij op dit ogenblik onmogelijk me voor te stellen dat niemand zich na zijn dood meer ergens voor kan schamen.’
kleovo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
modub's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
egerbosch_dobgirl99's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
minella's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Racial slurs