krystalgaia's reviews
14 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Think Norwegian Wood funnier, way way WAY more lighthearted, and also incredibly quiet. I read this as a character study of Pablo and by extension every person he’s meant to represent. Choi hit the nail in the head in showing us what it means to be lost in your early twenties and that sometimes, even adults don’t know where they’re headed, and that “life isn’t a destination” but an accumulation of regular events that teach us how to live.
The writing style is easily digestible, and its wordiness fits Pablo’s overthinking tendencies. This is also very detailed and Choi has done a great job building the world for non-New Yorker readers.
The plot was a little slow in the beginning because I expected them to meet right away on the first chapter (again, it was marketed as a romance book), but it slowly dawned on me that this is not about Pablo and Lee. It’s about Pablo with Lee. And I loved how everything led to the climax! It’s so believable and Choi’s specificity paid off.
Overall, five stars!
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The story is structured brilliantly. I loved how the past and present events are weaved in a way that both progressed and regressed their relationship, like two lines on a graph that slowly intersect and combine into one.
Poppy and Alex (as well as the other characters that come and go in their lives) have goals and desires, and it creates this constant tension that never gets resolved until the climax. Poppy is a very refreshing and funny character whose growth is relatable, and she just speaks to me (pun intended). Alex, on the other hand, is a complicated character who at first seems reliable but is a mess himself. It’s evident that their childhood experiences echoed in the way they made their choices as adults. Truly a great blueprint for creating characters!
The writing style is snappy and simple, but the imagery is still strong. I enjoyed the bickering as much as the introspection and dramatic scenes, and I went back-and-forth between laughing and crying. Every depicted emotion is well-timed and well-placed that it creates this natural flow of ease and tension.
But it wasn’t easy to give five stars. I noticed that there is a constant reminder of the “speaks to me” reference that it sort of annoyed me, but I guess it’s because I read it continuously for three days. And I love Alex’s character, I really do, but then it begs the question, “Why do male love interests have to be this tall and handsome hunk?” I can’t really fault Emily Henry for that; it’s more of an inquiry to the genre itself.
But again, I enjoyed the book, and its strengths overshadowed its flaws that it feels like a mistake to give this anything lower than five stars.
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I loved the writing style: how, regardless of where Charlie was on the intellectual spectrum, it remained true to itself, always straightforward and undecorated, which provokes thought in a way that words packaged in an excess of metaphors can never do. I also loved how everything looped back to how things were in the beginning — but somehow, simultaneously, worse.
It reminds me of a passage in A Little Life, which goes, "x will always be equal to x, no matter what he does." It's just amazing that these two novels, written more than fifty years apart, were able to reflect on the human experience in almost the same way, as if proving that the only other thing constant in the world aside from change is our humanity.
I couldn't give this a full five stars, because some parts were slow and repetitive that I was tempted to put this down for another book. But after the midpoint mark, things were well-paced again and the tension was handled with great care, but it was also after the midpoint mark that I saw how poorly portrayed Alice and Fay were. It was either a goddess or a manic pixie dream girl. Rose and Norma are debatable, though; their strengths and flaws are beyond the confines of gender.
I would've given this 4.9 stars, so I'll just leave the highest rating I can give on this site.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I enjoyed the writing style: a mix of essayistic, prosaic, and poetic. Very introspective, which is right up my alley. The way the whole story is a letter and is structured in vignettes made me feel like I was following Vuong's natural stream of consciousness, but I was never lost the way most stream-of-consciousness stories had made me feel.
The only thing that's keeping me from giving this a full five stars is the dialogue. There are parts, especially with Rose's and Lan's dialogue, that seemed more like Vuong's own voice rather than his mother's and grandmother's. This is noticeable on the first part, but as the book progressed, the dialogue became more natural to me.
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, Racism, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, War, Drug abuse, and Death
Minor: Self harm
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
And please, stop using fanfiction terms to sell a book. Tell me what it’s about. The blurb just gave me quick summaries about the main characters and their situation, but not what the story itself is about. Look at the blurbs of A Little Life, Kafka on the Shore, and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and you’ll get an idea.
- 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
Everything about this book is quietly tender, quietly palming my cheeks like a bruise. It makes you think of what it means to love, to let go, and to change, and loving the fact that you have the option to let go and therefore change. Whether that’s for the better or worse, no one knows: what matters is there is always an option, a choice, and what’s more important is you choose and act on it.
Washington’s sentences were very clean and clear. He said a lot by not saying a lot. The dialogue was topnotch but this novel’s power lies in the quiet moments, the scenes where it seems like nothing is happening when, in fact, everything is happening. He doesn’t adorn his words and simply tells the story as it is.
As Ocean Vuong said it, “this book made me happy.”
Graphic: Dysphoria, Sexual content, Racism, Death of parent, Cancer, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcoholism
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The tone is, as described in the blurb, devoid of sentimentality, which is something I have never read before. So when the narrator delivers a shocking event, the impact is doubly felt, to the point that I even had to take a break from reading this for a while.
My only concern is the translation. After reading both the novel and the translator’s introduction, it seems like much of Keene’s own writing style bled on the translated work.
Aside from that, I’d still recommend this book to anyone who’s in a reflective mood, and especially to those who enjoy Murakami.
Graphic: Addiction, Self harm, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Child abuse
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The world where this novel was set was interesting though. The premise (“What would you do if you could go back in time?”) was definitely something that had been used over and over again in other novels, so I was interested in how Kawaguchi executed it differently. And although I’d give him full marks for worldbuilding and the world itself, I still wish there was something more to this novel, something that would keep me up at night.
As for the technical aspect, there were a lot of stage directions that became repetitive, and Kawaguchi was mostly telling and not showing. Though I’d cut him some slack here, since this is his debut novel, and it must have been difficult to transition from playwriting to prose writing.
Overall, this is a warm, lighthearted read that wouldn’t ruin your vacation.
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Austen plays around with words like how Elizabeth does: witty, clever, snappy. And although the Penguin Classics edition preserved the early 19th century language which Austen had used, it's still a fairly easy read for a modern reader—and English is my second language.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Sexism