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I read this book for my IB English class, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It explores human connection, the afterlife, morality, classism, family, spirituality, and more. Most of all, the absurdism and satirical elements tie everything together to form an emotional story that takes readers through the process of grief and self-acceptance alongside the narrator, Yang Fei.
If you are looking for a book that broadens your perspective and empathy, be sure to give this one a try.
-224 pages, so it is a good length
-split into 7 parts: 7 ‘days’
-not a challenging read, but meaningful and packs a punch
Feb 28, 2025
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I am only at page 750 of this huge book so bear with me.
This book gets a lot of criticism mainly because a lot of its fans tend to be annoying about it, but if you're willing to read something longer you should check this out.
The writing isn't too difficult, but there's just so many intimate stories in here and it seems like the most relevant/prophetic book to our times (not as 21st century but as in actually now). It's amazing and already one of the best things I've ever read
2d ago
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I wrote it. It’s good.
Nov 20, 2023
I know I am technically late to this book but I just finished it and it has fundamentally changed me forever. Maybe its because I am an academic, or because I often introduce myself as the speaker of 2 and a half languages but it hit hard. It is vivid and spectacular and grief inducing and devastating. It has so much heart, so much love, yet so much despair. The attention to detail regarding history and conflicting philosophies, politics, religious beliefs and belief systems is so carefully and precisely constructed, it is in and of itself poetry. It's so vivid that I can taste it, I can feel the texture of the pages, different passages are rattling around my brain and I can remember where I read them, I am a different person from before I read this book. After the reading slump I was in, it feels like all along I was waiting to find this book, I didn't know I was missing it, or waiting for it and yet when I read it it is like all at once I suddenly knew that I had needed this book all along. Read it, if you are one of those people that gets skeptical of things that reach a certain level of popularity, just know that all the hype in the world has undersold this book. It is that good. And yes, I attached a low light photo of my copy because I have reread chapters of this so often that the pages are curling, fished it out of my backpack when I found random spots to sit or stand idly, accidentally smudged it when I immediately reached for it after writing sprawling pages in my notebooks. You see how my earphones aren't connected to anything because all I am thinking about is this book? Yeah exactly! This is a good fucking book I am so serious you guys if you have held off on reading it, bump it up your list.
Jan 9, 2025
Top Recs from @norahbene
The recently-released limited series on Netflix, Adolescence has gained quite a bit of popularity. Is it worth the watch?
I would say so. The performances and cinematography are amazing, as each episode is filmed in one take. However, the subject matter is dark, and there are some pretty intense scenes, so if that’s not up your alley I wouldn’t recommend.
Mar 26, 2025