booksarebrainfood's reviews
283 reviews

Not a fan, not sure what the point was and now I'm mentally scarred, had the chance to say something very profound about disability but it failed , hate it

sad, can see why its an American classic, well written

Amazing! The story of estrangement of two lovers and two bodies of people.
Learnt so much about Nigeria and the US's links, challenges Euro-centric novel form.
Writing is elegant, informative and witty.
Love Adichie!

(full review on www.booksarebrainfood.org)

Characters 1pt - Characters were compelling, background characters a bit 2 dimensional but still endearing, feel like archaic peoples but matches the tone of the book and in my opinion made them more interesting. Liked the subversion of the daughter/birth giver /mother trope to show the depth of the main character without reducing her to any of these alone.

Writing 1pt - Enjoyable, digestible, maybe a bit too conversational at times which didn't really match the high fantasy but it made it more accessible to me and helped me get through. Enjoyed the development of swear words and other terminology based on our own world and Jemisin's own invention.

Plot 1/2- Didn't find the plot very inspiring, couldn't really see where it was going, 1st novel in a series so I understand emphasis on world building and character establishing but standing alone as I read it I wasn't sure about this.

Enjoyable 1/2pt - Really struggled to get through, not sure if this is my own issue but I've seen the same from others. Maybe needed more intrigue or enjoyment, I enjoyed the Fulcrum part with Damaya because it gave the world more structure. Maybe needed more emphasis on structure before everything fell apart?

World Building / Engaging 1pt - This was very well done and the series' greatest asset for sure. Perfect blend of the familiar and unfamiliar. Well developed systems of power, imaginative and intriguing, liked the stone eater element and the folklore etc, would be interesting to research how far its based on any mythology. The Guardians were sinister and the orogenes were really intriguing. The novel also engages really well on issues such as climate change and hostile environments, displacement, systematic breaking of family structures, fear and abuse of power, caste systems, race, education, feminism, slavery and dehumanising those with differences. Comment on fear of feminine sexuality perhaps with issues of FGM? Could properly study this novel.

Overall 4 stars: Any issues I had with this were to do with its place as an exposition novel not a standalone one, and my own concentration issues at the moment. I don't feel compelled to read on immediately but maybe in the future, but any lovers of fantasy, sci fi or YA would really enjoy it. Really intricate world building and also engaging with our own world.

This novel is extremely accomplished and gives a really in depth look at the trans generational effects of slavery and oppression in a way that was never seeking too much to shock or upset the reader. The story of the characters was heartbreaking and beautiful , the writing simple and detailed, and following the characters through the years gave us a really close connection to their lineage. I’m not sure how realistic it is which I think could be confusing since the book is seeking to lay out the truth and expose a timeline of oppression , maybe the serendipitous parts say something about the strength of family bonds and the impact of fate? The way that the ancestors guide those that follow them is really beautiful, and the last chapter really made me weep a little bit.

I really enjoyed getting to know this story again after having seen the film in my teenage years.
I think this story is a really good exploration of friendship, insular communities, the edges of morality, and creation. *spoilers*

Plot 0.5 stars: I was really compelled by the story and the drip-feed of information that you get about Hailsham, the characters, and why they are special. It isn't the most intricate of plots but it was enough to keep me interested throughout.

Characters 1 star: This is where this book really shines. The trio of Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy with the other students at the school and at the Cottages really showed an in-depth understanding of friendship dynamics at a teenage level and how these mature through life and undergo various strains. It also looks at dynamics in insular communities, how they rely on each other for everything and make rumours into a reality by not having a clear structure. Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are very flawed but very real characters, and their reality only adds to the argument that even though they are artificially created life they are still as real as the people they were modeled off. Their depth supports the novel's argument that creating life is more of a responsibility than they are aware of, and makes their story all the more tragic.

Writing 1 star: I forgot throughout almost all of this novel that it was a male author because Kathy's viewpoint was so well nuanced she was so real to me, which is a good sign of Ishiguro's writing style. Ishiguro's writing is a pleasure to read, and the idyllic descriptions of Hailsham were captivating and intriguing. He does a lot with very little and does the first-person narrative in a way that is not easy to achieve.

World Engagement / Building 0.5 star: This book engages with a lot of different issues, it explores morality in a literal sense and the responsibility of creating life and what we owe to each other. The children's emphasis on art and creation links to their physical donations and shows the dangers of what our system demands from us in terms of output and productivity. In terms of its own world-building as a dystopia I'm not sure how well it did, you never get a full explanation of why they are created to donate or what time period it is meant to be (probably commenting on how little the protagonists know about the world and their own creation). The sense of mystery does add to the story and I think it is a comment on how little we actually know about the systems that sustain our lifestyles and things we turn a blind eye too while others are suffering (eg. eating meat, fast fashion, fossil fuel mining etc). In terms of payoff, I was expecting a little bit more but I think it allows us to focus on the characters as this is a character-driven novel.

Enjoyability 1 star: I blazed through this in a couple of days, I found the story compelling, the characters interesting and the prose easy to digest. It would make a great holiday read or something quick and captivating to get you thinking about the moral issues that we face on a daily basis as our knowledge of science becomes more powerful every day.

“My life now, my whole life, regardless of all that may happen to me, every minute of it, is not only not meaningless, as it was before, but has the unquestionable meaning of the good which it is in my power to put into it!”