sarahxify's Reviews (703)

adventurous
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is a very imperfect novel. The characters are unbelievable, not that well-developed (especially in the first half of the book), and don't seem to react like real human beings when things happen. Despite all that, by the time I reached the halfway point I was completely taken in by this story, very invested in these ridiculous people, and will be moving onto the second book immediately. Sometimes life just doesn't make sense I guess. 

(I listened to the audiobook version of this, produced by Neil Gaiman and would recommend it!)
reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Reflective, quiet, and weirdly compelling. I really really enjoyed this one, and found it utterly absorbing. 

Lincoln in the Bardo

George Saunders

DID NOT FINISH: 36%

Too disjointed and fragmented for me, it was really hard for me to follow. I would absolutely try something else by this author, just not in this style. I ended up skimming through loads of this and felt that I was doing it a disservice, so decided to DNF. 
challenging dark emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

We reviewed A Little Life in episode #78 of the Bookcast Club podcast. Episode here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1116755/11316793

The Trees

Percival Everett

DID NOT FINISH: 43%
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character

Enjoyed this while I was reading this, but will probably be largely forgettable. 

Trust

Hernan Diaz

DID NOT FINISH: 36%

The concept of this is interesting, I like what he's trying to do and I definitely see why this was longlisted for the booker this year. In the context of the longlist and Case Study being longlisted as well, it makes total sense on this shortlist. 
I'm personally just not interested though. Quite liked the first story but when it got to the second, I just found it really tedious. I can appreciate what he's doing, I think it's cool, but subject wise just doesn't get me going.