OYENTE

Christine K.

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  • opiniones
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  • 5
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Thin Metaphor and Poor Use of Central Conceit (Invisibility)

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-27-24

I had to force myself to finish this one. The world-building was shallow, and the central conceit — that half of the world’s population was now invisible — was barely functional as a plot device. The author kept finding new ways to nullify the invisibility (lens implants that can see heat, mandatory painting of the skin, etc.), while at the same time writing as though his characters could see each other with no problem. There was lots of eye contact, and looking each other up and down, and waving hello, and noticing expressions or posture, that should have been impossible. Equally aggravating and unexplained, this post-climate-disaster world has no animals, insects, or seasons, and the main character has never seen a flower. And yet - they live in a forest and their diet consists mainly of gardened herbs, root vegetables, and squash varieties. How do these grow without their pollinators and flowers? Finally, the metaphor for the oppression of minorities in the West was painfully obvious. There was little nuance to either the oppressors or the oppressed; the social construct felt one-dimensional, as though the author (who is a person of color) had once read about slavery and the Civil Rights Movement in a history book instead of living his own experience. Skip it.

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Cliche with overblown narration

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
1 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-14-23

As a sewist, I wanted to love this book. The pattern references feel clunky and ill-researched — the author suggests pattern modifications that make no sense (cuffs on a shirt with no sleeves?), or has the main character wear size-limited patterns with “no mods!” that wouldn’t fit her 5’5, 200-lb frame in the largest size available. As someone in the military, I found her military details poorly researched. And as someone from a small town, it’s clear the author hasn’t spent much time in one. For the town square to have the number of shops she shoehorned in there, it would have to take up three blocks. And all the tight-knit townspeople apparently have collective amnesia that one character used to be married to their high school sweetheart, a spouse no one knew existed. Finally, one character’s wild swings in demeanor are brushed away with little explanation beyond “stress”.

The narrator makes every character sound like Francis Underwood in House of Cards, a caricature of aristocratic Southern speech.

Overall, unless cozy mysteries are just really your jam, I’d say skip it.

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Utterly mundane “Rich Uncle” inheritance drama

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-19-23

Complete disappointment. Magic has literally nothing to do with the plot - yes, several characters are “wizards”, but they do nothing more with their magic than open doors, read minds, and light joints. You could remove magic completely and the plot would remain identical - money-grubbing niece comes for her elderly and possibly senile uncle’s estate.

Sexist and racist microaggressions run throughout the book. The story opens with the main character ogling the chest of the woman trying to hire him. Every female character’s body is commented on. The magical pendant at the center of the drama turns out to be a “cursed Native American artifact” from the “trickster god” Kokopelli, who “no one living” knows anything about anymore. Racist bollocks.

And annoyingly, there are seeming plot points that just go….nowhere. A warehouse fire is a non-event. A maybe-spy neighbor who makes daily appearances suddenly fades out of the plot. A hugely built-up search for an alternate heir leads to no decisions. Even the climax (how will they deal with the pendant?) reaches a laughably simple conclusion.

Save your money.

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Sexist, Racist; Poor Narration

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
2 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-09-20

The recording: The reader uses a thick Castilian pronunciation for all Spanish words and names throughout. He also, egregiously, uses that same pronunciation for all Catalan words. In a book that is partly meant to be a love song to Barcelona, this complete failure to acknowledge the Catalan history and spirit of the city severely undermines the narration. If you are from Barcelona or have spent any time there, this will cheapen the audiobook significantly for you. The tuneless piano soundtrack that accompanies poignant moments (composed by the author) doesn’t help.

The story: there is a disturbing sexism embedded in this story. Nearly every female character is grossly sexualized, regardless of age (child or elderly), and these characters internalize blame for their abusers’ actions in a consistent manor that suggests the author truly views women as objects and is not just using the lewd or abusive actions of male characters to develop a plot point. Homophobia and anti-Semitism casually dot the story as well, as though these prejudices offer an acceptable way to explain the world.

Narratively, the story has major faults, most especially long, tiresome passages of exposition by characters who could not possibly know about what they are describing. The parallels between the narrator, Daniel, and the protagonist, Julian, are blatant and clumsy. Finally, there are two major plot points, an early relationship of Daniel’s and a revelation about Julian’s relationship to his long-lost love, that ultimately lead nowhere. They take up pages and pages but do not advance true plot in any way, nor factor into the final ending.

This book clearly lacked a good editor willing to say “no”. Spend your time and money on something else.

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