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alphabetmafiamember's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Classism
tremayna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Infidelity and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Medical content, and Death of parent
Written before the 2020 pandemic, this book about a fictional global viral event was disorienting to read in the year 2023, so closely following the eerily parallel events that came to pass in real life. Much of the real life pandemic is still in progress; its effects continue to leave their mark; the process of compartmentalizing memories of things surreal and too big to process without a biweekly therapy plan is still happening. Picking up this book jolted me back into the thick of pandemic thinking, creating a literal sense of disorientation where I was looking around me wondering how people could be sitting so close, maskless, touching everything without thought, when I hadn't seen the world that way in at least a year and a half. For that reason alone, I have to commend the writing. And at the same time, the author's delicate touch and the many moments of human normalcy, in both pre-event and post-event scenes, prevented the complete despair that could have pervaded this story. I felt St John Mandel balanced total devastation with enough possibility to keep the reader believing in the likelihood of meaningful survival without overdoing it and allowing the story to devolve into purely a feel good fantasy.imoran's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Gore, Blood, and Classism