Reviews with content warning for Animal death - In Watermelon Sugar

I felt like I was in a dream reading this. The writing was equal parts escapist and surreal. Brautigan's style is minimal and honest, repetitive and inviting.

Other books that In Watermelon Sugar reminded me of:
1. Le Petit Prince (fantastical/surreal elements like the talking tigers)
2. Cat's Cradle (writing style)
3. The Time Machine (iDeath)

Content Warnings

cheyentist's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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nochnitsa's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

3.75

I'm glad I finally read it, it was recommended to me by my classmates when I was 15. Took me some time (I'm 24 now) but I see what all the hype was about.

I am still not sure what I can take away from this book but it was definitely one of a kind. It gave me George Orwell vibes for some reason.

I marked multiple passages because I found them so beautiful and poetic. What I loved most about it is the world building, which kinda makes sense even though it doesn't make any sense. Sometimes I could see the images so clearly in my head, I wanted to draw them. Maybe I will in the future.

I hope I'll find time to reread this book again.

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atomiic_sunshine's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

It's a very romantic story about the apocalypse, even if the actual romance is not.

Let's not start with dishonesty, I read this because Harry Styles recommended it, and that is the only reason. And, to continue with this streak of honesty, between this and being a fan of Charles Bukowski, we might have some red flags. I don't really know how to put it into words, but something about the protagonist sets off alarm bells for me. He feels like a creep. Or an incel. But like - I couldn't give you an example as to why. It's just a feeling, like, you know when you know (who the fuck to avoid). It all started when it makes clear that he is having a relationship with a girl significantly younger than him (him being 29) and her exact age is never clarified. Honestly, I couldn't even enjoy the book because of the weird vibes I got from the protagonist. It is actually a deep and compelling story with a world I am dying to learn more about but I couldn't get past trying to figure out the main character's motivations.

It's got me, like, why do they only grow watermelons? What happened to the world? What is iDeath? What were the tigers supposed to symbolize? But all I could think about was how old that girl was.

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