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snowgirl2242's review against another edition
2.0
A mediocre man (this is repeated so0o0o0o many times, for why?) has a crap job, and the apocalypse becomes monotonous after you have lived through it for a year, plus folks don't form emotional attachments to others because everyone is always on the move, so bye!
This book is boring. A boring zombie book, I didn't know that was possible. I was pulled it at the beginning by all of the words I didn't know and had to look up: charnel, interregnum, bivouac, moribund. But then the plot never took off and I recognized that Whitehead was choosing to show the zombie wasteland through the lens of a working peon who is emotionally dead because of the horrors of the world. When that sunk in I abandoned looking up fancy nouns and adjectives so that I could quickly move through this novel.
The last 50 pages are pretty good, it's when the main character comes out of his haze (the man actually internally acknowledges this) and is propelled into action. The payoff of the end was not worth wading through the first 250 or so pages.
This book is boring. A boring zombie book, I didn't know that was possible. I was pulled it at the beginning by all of the words I didn't know and had to look up: charnel, interregnum, bivouac, moribund. But then the plot never took off and I recognized that Whitehead was choosing to show the zombie wasteland through the lens of a working peon who is emotionally dead because of the horrors of the world. When that sunk in I abandoned looking up fancy nouns and adjectives so that I could quickly move through this novel.
The last 50 pages are pretty good, it's when the main character comes out of his haze (the man actually internally acknowledges this) and is propelled into action. The payoff of the end was not worth wading through the first 250 or so pages.
smcgillicuddy320's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting, literary zombie novel. Instead of being a commentary on consumerism, it's more of an exploration of a country past its prime. A country whose people could once pull together and achieve great things is now a shell of itself. And after the zombie apocalypse guts what is left of it, the survivors try to achieve one last great thing: retaking Manhattan from the dead. Can they do it?
flophillips31's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
viktorleppanen's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
2.75
Kinda dry, essay-like. Has a few good scenes though. Would have hoped more personal feel, less outside view, but that's my zombie apocalypse story requirement. The over all writing and plot were great though.
shieldat's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
yumikofigaro's review against another edition
4.0
not a book i'd typically give four stars, but i liked it. strangely.
megserin's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, I liked this book. I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it. Colson Whitehead can certainly write. This book took place over the span of 3 days, which was an interesting choice. It was full of flashbacks and tangents, which made it hard to follow at times. Ultimately, it was a thoughtful, well-written zombie novel, words I'm not sure get thrown together in the same sentence often.
phantomgecko's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
While the writing was wonderful, I found this book kinda forgettable. Like, interesting things happen, the story is well structured, and the commentary is relevant. But I guess this just didn't stick with me.
merlendechien's review against another edition
1.0
The use of words was nice but to me it was, overall, dull.