A review by finalgirl
Planeta Azul, by Jeanette Winterson
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-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? Yes
3.5
Love circular stories, love the unending search for a place to call home, love the criticism of consumerism and late stage capitalism.
Not too keen though, on the tendency the narrative had of putting all of humanity in the same bag for the sake of its connecting narrative. I really wish that just as much as it criticized capitalism in-text, it did the same for colonialism— at times it even felt like it was romanticizing it, just for the sake of a metaphor that didn't quite land.Â
For example I don't think that colonialism and genocide perpetrated by very white nations when "discovering" the "New Worlds", or mass consumerism and ecocide due to corporatocracy, should've been drawn as a parallel to what happened in Rapa Nui (who's never referred by its actual indigenous name) for a cautionary tale. Even less so coming from a white author.
It does have beautiful turn of phrases though, but I think I would've liked it better as a space opera.
Not too keen though, on the tendency the narrative had of putting all of humanity in the same bag for the sake of its connecting narrative. I really wish that just as much as it criticized capitalism in-text, it did the same for colonialism— at times it even felt like it was romanticizing it, just for the sake of a metaphor that didn't quite land.Â
For example I don't think that colonialism and genocide perpetrated by very white nations when "discovering" the "New Worlds", or mass consumerism and ecocide due to corporatocracy, should've been drawn as a parallel to what happened in Rapa Nui (who's never referred by its actual indigenous name) for a cautionary tale. Even less so coming from a white author.
It does have beautiful turn of phrases though, but I think I would've liked it better as a space opera.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Genocide
Moderate: Body horror, Fatphobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexism
Fatphobia, racism, xenophobia, sexism: The first half takes place in a late stage capitalism super city where all isms are present. They're challenged in text.
Pedophilia/Child Abuse/Trafficking: MC meets a character that wants to look like a teen to please her pedophilic husband. Later on, the MC has to go talk to the husband while he's in a brothel where child trafficking takes place.
Colonialism/Imperialism: Cited and referenced all through the text.