I agree that the sentence by sentence writing of Celeste Ng is very beautiful. Much thought is given in her craft. She does have a beautiful writing style, and it was masterfully depicted in the book Little Fires Everywhere.
I just finished this book today and couldn't really articulate what didn't work for me for this story, but you've been able to say what was pondering in my head :P It's like you said: it was fine, but could have been so much more. I really enjoyed her other work, so I guess I built this up a bit too much in my head. Alas, it happens. Still really interested in more of her work, I'm intrigued where her next books will go after this.
A really, really great review and thoughts about this book. I started it on audio and felt it was not quite a good fit on audio--not seeing symbols--was a problem. I listen to a lot of audio and am aware that some stories work better in print, so I stopped and am waiting for a copy from the library. I was not sure, from what I heard, that I was going to like this, but I wanted to give it a chance in print. I do love Ng's past books and I thought the topic was one i wanted to understand more about. Interesting thoughts on libraries. Wish you would do a video on "questions you want to ask a librarian". As a constant library user I have quite a few.
I am a woman of color born in 1951. I identified with the father-son relationship. There were things going on that my parents would never discuss with me during my childhood, and that limited our conversations. They loved all their children, but they didn’t open up until they had grandchildren. Feeling like an outsider whenever he left the dorm room, Sadie was the only person Bird felt comfortable with to talk about things he could not discuss with his father. Why wouldn’t they be friends?
I agree with your criticisms. I have loved several dystopian books, but this one was too heavy-handed with its messaging and too shallow with its characterization for me. I did think Ng’s writing on a sentence by sentence level was quite lovely.
Yes! That's a thing I wish I had expressed more clearly; I just don't like feeling like the book has a clear message or moral that the reader should take away. Let me use my critical thinking skills to come up with my own! It almost feels like being talked down to, in case you miss the point.
Im a huge fan of Celeste Ng's previous two books and when I saw there was a new release, I immediately bought it, without even seeing what it was about. But Im not a fan of distopia at all and I ended up DNFing it (for now) ://
Thank you for your review! I’m just starting to read this one for my Book Club - can’t wait! Wish we could talk as I have some questions about your perspective. I am a person who started falling in love with libraries when I was learning to read at ages three and four. I have only grown to appreciate the benefits of having an accessible library as a source of information and entertainment in your community irreplaceable! I have volunteered to support and help raise money to build libraries all of my adult life and am frustrated by your comment that most librarians tend to be White Supremacists who believe libraries should be inclusive (yes, they do, as they should) - but then you say they believe libraries shouldn’t benefit people of color - What??? The first part of your statement is correct, but the second, contradictory part is absolutely false for all of the Liberians I have known. Curious to know how you formed your opinion.
I didn't mean to imply that all librarians are white supremacists, but plenty of them are. I've read a lot of discourse in the "should libraries be neutral" sphere to know that. Plus I've seen the ways that some librarians I've worked with treat POC and people from other marginalized communities. My point was that not all librarians are altruistic superheroes who want to serve their communities in the ways that they need, but instead prioritize maintaining the status quo, which in the United States is a white supremacist attitude. Also people who actively advocate for white supremacy are definitionally not advocating for communities of color.
We have come into contact, and experienced, very different librarians and libraries. Perhaps it is due to the geographic nature of the locals. My experience has been open inclusion but then I am from an older generation and in the last 25 years a more rural population - all are welcome in our library and I would be surprised if I saw any discrimination.
I have worked in both extremely rural and metropolitan libraries. I also talked about a lot of these issues in my Master's program in Library and Information Science.
I feel like Bird and his father are emotional shells, because of the narrow constraints of their "staying below the radar" existence. Bird is shunned because of his Asian appearance. They are cardboard characters because of their sociologically and financially impoverished circumstances.
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I agree that the sentence by sentence writing of Celeste Ng is very beautiful. Much thought is given in her craft. She does have a beautiful writing style, and it was masterfully depicted in the book Little Fires Everywhere.
I have this one on my tbr and hope to get to it soon. Enjoyed hearing your thoughts on it even if it didn’t totally work for you.
I just finished this book today and couldn't really articulate what didn't work for me for this story, but you've been able to say what was pondering in my head :P It's like you said: it was fine, but could have been so much more. I really enjoyed her other work, so I guess I built this up a bit too much in my head. Alas, it happens. Still really interested in more of her work, I'm intrigued where her next books will go after this.
A really, really great review and thoughts about this book. I started it on audio and felt it was not quite a good fit on audio--not seeing symbols--was a problem. I listen to a lot of audio and am aware that some stories work better in print, so I stopped and am waiting for a copy from the library. I was not sure, from what I heard, that I was going to like this, but I wanted to give it a chance in print. I do love Ng's past books and I thought the topic was one i wanted to understand more about. Interesting thoughts on libraries. Wish you would do a video on "questions you want to ask a librarian". As a constant library user I have quite a few.
I’d be happy to do a video like that! Ask away and I can also answer some other questions I’ve received in the past. Maybe it can become a series :)
I am a woman of color born in 1951. I identified with the father-son relationship. There were things going on that my parents would never discuss with me during my childhood, and that limited our conversations. They loved all their children, but they didn’t open up until they had grandchildren. Feeling like an outsider whenever he left the dorm room, Sadie was the only person Bird felt comfortable with to talk about things he could not discuss with his father. Why wouldn’t they be friends?
I agree with your criticisms. I have loved several dystopian books, but this one was too heavy-handed with its messaging and too shallow with its characterization for me. I did think Ng’s writing on a sentence by sentence level was quite lovely.
Yes! That's a thing I wish I had expressed more clearly; I just don't like feeling like the book has a clear message or moral that the reader should take away. Let me use my critical thinking skills to come up with my own! It almost feels like being talked down to, in case you miss the point.
Im a huge fan of Celeste Ng's previous two books and when I saw there was a new release, I immediately bought it, without even seeing what it was about. But Im not a fan of distopia at all and I ended up DNFing it (for now) ://
Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work for you either. It can be disappointing when an author changes genre and it's something you're not into.
@@bookishsabrina yeah, but props to her for trying something new! Specially in the dystopian genre
Thank you for your review! I’m just starting to read this one for my Book Club - can’t wait! Wish we could talk as I have some questions about your perspective. I am a person who started falling in love with libraries when I was learning to read at ages three and four. I have only grown to appreciate the benefits of having an accessible library as a source of information and entertainment in your community irreplaceable! I have volunteered to support and help raise money to build libraries all of my adult life and am frustrated by your comment that most librarians tend to be White Supremacists who believe libraries should be inclusive (yes, they do, as they should) - but then you say they believe libraries shouldn’t benefit people of color - What??? The first part of your statement is correct, but the second, contradictory part is absolutely false for all of the Liberians I have known. Curious to know how you formed your opinion.
I didn't mean to imply that all librarians are white supremacists, but plenty of them are. I've read a lot of discourse in the "should libraries be neutral" sphere to know that. Plus I've seen the ways that some librarians I've worked with treat POC and people from other marginalized communities.
My point was that not all librarians are altruistic superheroes who want to serve their communities in the ways that they need, but instead prioritize maintaining the status quo, which in the United States is a white supremacist attitude. Also people who actively advocate for white supremacy are definitionally not advocating for communities of color.
We have come into contact, and experienced, very different librarians and libraries. Perhaps it is due to the geographic nature of the locals. My experience has been open inclusion but then I am from an older generation and in the last 25 years a more rural population - all are welcome in our library and I would be surprised if I saw any discrimination.
I have worked in both extremely rural and metropolitan libraries. I also talked about a lot of these issues in my Master's program in Library and Information Science.
I feel like Bird and his father are emotional shells, because of the narrow constraints of their "staying below the radar" existence. Bird is shunned because of his Asian appearance. They are cardboard characters because of their sociologically and financially impoverished circumstances.
Hello there 👋 ☺️
I appreciate your thoughtful review. Comparison with Margaret Atwood excellent.