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jhbandcats's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It’s really difficult for me to give this a rating. If I judge it on its own merits and look at it as an epic from the late 1950s, then it’s excellent. However, if I judge it on how much I enjoyed it, it’s a 2 or maybe a 2.5. I’m sure I’d have enjoyed it more had I either been Italian or knowledgeable about this period of Italian history.
I found it a real struggle to read. The sentences are long, the paragraphs are long, the chapters are long. It felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. I didn’t feel any connection at all to the characters till I read the chapter near the end that deals with the Prince’s thoughts at the end of his life. I sort of liked Tancredi because he was lively but I didn’t care for any of the others. This made it difficult for me to feel connected to the book.
To be honest, the way I came to appreciate the book was in reading contemporary and current reviews of the book and movie. (There were new reviews on the 50th anniversary of both.) I feel like I failed the book in only being able to appreciate it through others’ words. I also found the movie helpful. It was made only five years after the book was published so it has a similar feel to it.
If I hadn’t had to read this for a book group I’d never have read beyond the first chapter. That said, I’m glad I read it but I never want to read it again!
I found it a real struggle to read. The sentences are long, the paragraphs are long, the chapters are long. It felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. I didn’t feel any connection at all to the characters till I read the chapter near the end that deals with the Prince’s thoughts at the end of his life. I sort of liked Tancredi because he was lively but I didn’t care for any of the others. This made it difficult for me to feel connected to the book.
To be honest, the way I came to appreciate the book was in reading contemporary and current reviews of the book and movie. (There were new reviews on the 50th anniversary of both.) I feel like I failed the book in only being able to appreciate it through others’ words. I also found the movie helpful. It was made only five years after the book was published so it has a similar feel to it.
If I hadn’t had to read this for a book group I’d never have read beyond the first chapter. That said, I’m glad I read it but I never want to read it again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, War, and Classism
pedanther's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Excrement, and Vomit