mahamreads's Reviews (365)

I had such high hopes from this book, and I have to say that i was really disappointed. 

The one thing that I did enjoy was the characters and their dynamic with one another as well as their relationship with China as diaspora. 

That being said, I feel like the writer tried to make the book too atmospheric at times and it began to sound repetitive. Every chapter seemed to start the same way the previous one, and references to BLM, spotify, and the pandemic seemed out of place, unnecessary, and sometime quite annoying.

The pacing of the book was also quite off. Nothing happened for the first quarter of the book and when something did finally start to happen, it was short-lived. I hate that I'm using this word but sometimes i found the book to be borderline boring.

im someone who rarely reads romance novels but there was something about this one that just gave me all the feels

Adichie could write her grocery list and somehow manage to make it sound lyrical and perfect

'These are the incongruities of memory. It is hard to hold on to the entirety of something, but pieces may be held up to light.'

I devoured this book in 2 days and within the first half I knew that it would be one of my favourite books of the year. The characters are so wonderfully fleshed out with intricate storylines and the perfect balance between heart-breakingly sad and laugh out loud funny moments. 

My only issue was that sometimes the book seemed to drag on for a bit, but I suppose that's to be expected in an 800 page book. Nonetheless, this was quite probably one of the best books published in 2021 and I really look forward to Jeffers' future work.

'Loving is something we all do alone and through different sets of eyes'

The first thing that's jumped out while I was reading this book was how the writing was just so hopelessly poetic. I was underlining every other line because the way Armfield writes is just so captivating, it sucks you in just as Leah was sucked in by the sea. 
Even though the writing more than made up for the fact that this book didn't have any coherent plot, the one thing that made this a 4 star read (and not a 5 star one) for me was that it felt too long. There were times when I wanted to skip a few pages but then I'd read another beautiful line and decide against it. 

I'm definitely going to give Armfield's other book a read, but I just hope the pacing is a bit better.

I never thought I would say this, but the movie in this case was better than the book. I understand that the book was written in a climate where women were seen as objects and lesser beings, but seeing men talk about beating their wives with such nonchalance was extremely unnerving. Furthermore, the women in this story are caricatures; they are either sluts or hysterical.
I also believe that there were far more sub-plots than necessary. For example, there was no need for there to be such a focus on Johnny's story because he was quite an unlikeable character and I found myself skimming through his arc. 
The writing was very good and visual in nature, but I wouldn't recommend this book and (I can't believe I'm saying this) I think everyone is better off just watching the movie.