A review by ehmannky
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a hard book to read. It's beautifully written, and the fantastical elements are perfectly interwoven with the more concrete and real scenes. But, wow it is a heavy and tough read. I would recommend it, but I did have to put it down quite often because it dragged up some painful memories in my own life. Pan handles the topic of suicide without demonizing the person who dies or stigmatizing it and without minimizing the impact that this type of death has on the people left behind. I could tell even before I read the afterward that Pan has also experienced this grief personally because it was just so...accurate to what I have felt in my own life.
Pan captures the grief that comes from losing a loved one to suicide so well. The longing and the what ifs and the refusal to accept that they left without any real reason at all. When Leigh comes home in at the beginning to find her mother dead, the entire sequence was nearly a replay of when I came home to find that my brother had died by suicide. Gorgeous writing, impactful and important plot. Strongly recommend.
Pan captures the grief that comes from losing a loved one to suicide so well. The longing and the what ifs and the refusal to accept that they left without any real reason at all. When Leigh comes home in at the beginning to find her mother dead, the entire sequence was nearly a replay of when I came home to find that my brother had died by suicide. Gorgeous writing, impactful and important plot. Strongly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Blood