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tangerine1's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
Wouldn't recommend the audiobook, the narrator's voice has an incredibly metallic texture that I found painful.
Wouldn't recommend the audiobook, the narrator's voice has an incredibly metallic texture that I found painful.
michael_d_barnett's review against another edition
5.0
This novel is filled with wonder and surprise. Gorgeous passages evoke a sense of wanderlust, of comfortable dislocation and a sort of longed for isolation. It’s rare to find a novel that marries the post punk, gothic influences of my youth to the sun drenched, Oaxacan daydream of my current existence. Chloe Aridjis, someone skilled in the painterly art of wordscapes and with such an internationally replete experience, deftly explores this odd combination.
bittybren's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book as part of a reading challenge with a criteria of reading a book set in Mexico.
This book was okay. It was melodic, even paced and more or less a generic story line. The story is about a young girl who more or less runs away from home to a beach and then eventually is brought back home.
Her father is a professor and has a love for ship wrecks and the story ties in ship wrecks throughout the story metaphorically.
It was interesting but the book left me feeling very "meh".
This book was okay. It was melodic, even paced and more or less a generic story line. The story is about a young girl who more or less runs away from home to a beach and then eventually is brought back home.
Her father is a professor and has a love for ship wrecks and the story ties in ship wrecks throughout the story metaphorically.
It was interesting but the book left me feeling very "meh".
gonza_basta's review
2.0
I'm always a bit bewildered by this author's stories, the stories she tells and how she tells them.
Resto sempre un po' interdetta dalle storie di questa autrice, dalle storie che racconta e da come le racconta.
Resto sempre un po' interdetta dalle storie di questa autrice, dalle storie che racconta e da come le racconta.
kailachaz's review against another edition
3.0
The author is talented; has a great ability to twist and bend words like the great Toni Morrison. In terms of the plot itself, it just didn't capture my enthusiasm like the synopsis did on the sleeve. I thought there would be a little more magic and twists, but there wasn't. I thought it was just ok; and, would've given a lower score but for the fact that she is gifted in writing and the art of manipulating words.
xhalexj's review against another edition
2.0
Very interesting prose, really bizarre and fantastical writing style, somewhat pretentious but because of how seriously it takes itself it somehow works. Unfortunately, this book falls flat plot-wise. I'm not one to necessarily need a plot but I think I need more structure than what Aridjis provides. With just 200 short pages made even shorter by frequent paragraph breaks and page breaks this somehow feels way longer than it should. It took me a few days to finish largely because I was unmotivated; I only finished because I refused to let a 200 page book deter me. What I think the author was trying to portray was that the mind of a teenager is fantastic but ultimately banal; the narrator doesn't have a truly original thought and simply reflects on the world around her in a way that suggests she's grasping for something that doesn't exist. In that sense, this book captures the essence of the teenage mind better than I thought it might. In all other respects it fell flat for me. Unfortunate given how amazing the cover art is haha.
littlesprite21's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
maritzelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
??? Qué leí? No hubo ni un monstruo marino. La protagonista esa una odiosa. La escritura es presuntuosa y full of itself.
corngod31's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Bored runaway on the beach... I didn't get it.
nataliejwong's review against another edition
1.0
This is certainly a book that you could read. Would I recommend it? Absolutely not. I have no idea what this book was trying to say or if there was a point? I'm just confused? There was no resolve... What was the thing with the dwarves? What happened there? I can't believe that some reviewers called this book powerful and mesmerizing? This book was directionless, disappointing, and tired.