Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

12 reviews

dannb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

3.25

Very interesting thread on what is scientifically ethical and a good idea 

Told in three parts "kind of" by three characters... I was disappointed that Lily is mostly dropped from the story as the book progresses

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hungry_wombat's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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kelsea's review against another edition

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reflective medium-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

4.5


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rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition

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reflective slow-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


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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The reviews for this book among my friends were all over the place, so I didn’t know what to expect. But I really liked this one. I would teach this book if I were a college professor. I love contemplating existentialism and ethics in conjunction with each other and some of the biggest what ifs of our lives.

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gwenswoons's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is really excellent — I read a comp that suggested this is for readers of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, but I think Pachinko is a more accurate comp for me. It has a similar grandly-sweeping time span, with deep and devastating insights about history and humanity through the lens of more closely personal and interpersonal moments.

I struggled a bit with the back third — the pacing of it overall and the use of the second person made it slower for me, and somehow it felt more practical: it landed more like the way the book needed to wrap up structurally than what needed to take place by emotional necessity. Ultimately it didn’t hit as deeply and personally as I wished, though as I said it’s totally excellent; I longed for more catharsis, more emotional outpouring perhaps, but that is also not the affect of the book or of the storytellers inside it.

Definitely recommend — I am curious about Goodbye, Vitamin now, though it make take me a while to get to Khong’s backlist. I’ll for sure take note of her future novels, if not immediately dive into them.

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juliagracethomas's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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imfixintoread's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I have had a book hangover for the last 24 hours since finishing this. It is such a beautifully written novel with three parts. One of Lily Chen based in NYC, one of Nick Chen based in Washington State, and a final portion with Nick and May. May made difficult decisions she had to live with for the rest of her life. Despite these three different storylines, Khong weaves them so well together. It's a must-read.

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timetotalkbeauty's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5


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meredithamadee's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Engaging and immersive. Part multigenerational saga, part coming of age, part philosophical reflection. I really enjoyed it! I would rate between 4.25-4.5/5 stars ⭐️ This would make a great book to discuss with a book club! 

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