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A review by esdeecarlson
The Peculiarities by David Liss
4.0
**This book was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.**
4.5 stars
Such an imaginative, compelling take on the matter of magic! The Peculiarities shines in its storytelling, its worldbuilding, and the development of its characters.
However. Reader, beware: The first few chapters, I worried I might not like the book terribly much, if at all. The main character (Thomas) was so passive, the other characters so lightly sketched, and a few chapters in there was a disturbing scene that made me worry the book as a whole was going to be in bad taste.
But as it turns out, the beginning was calculated. As the book goes on, Thomas turns from a listless superfluous man into a perceptive and determined hero; the side characters are revealed, through Thomas’s increasing attention to them, to be complex and interesting. And the world, though cruel, is a place of hope. This is a novel which demonstrates real character growth and change over the course of the story, and not just because our protagonist is slowly turning into a tree. I loved this book, and I think those who stick past the first few chapters will as well.
Content warnings: rape, anti-Semitism
4.5 stars
Such an imaginative, compelling take on the matter of magic! The Peculiarities shines in its storytelling, its worldbuilding, and the development of its characters.
However. Reader, beware: The first few chapters, I worried I might not like the book terribly much, if at all. The main character (Thomas) was so passive, the other characters so lightly sketched, and a few chapters in there was a disturbing scene that made me worry the book as a whole was going to be in bad taste.
But as it turns out, the beginning was calculated. As the book goes on, Thomas turns from a listless superfluous man into a perceptive and determined hero; the side characters are revealed, through Thomas’s increasing attention to them, to be complex and interesting. And the world, though cruel, is a place of hope. This is a novel which demonstrates real character growth and change over the course of the story, and not just because our protagonist is slowly turning into a tree. I loved this book, and I think those who stick past the first few chapters will as well.
Content warnings: rape, anti-Semitism