Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Les Abeilles grises by Andrey Kurkov

6 reviews

biojesspj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No
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asacco9642's review against another edition

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

4.0

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lorenag5's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

It’s weird how you can dread the process of something, but looking back, find that it actually wasn’t as terrible as you thought it was. This was pretty much my experience reading Grey Bees. The book is slow (maybe unbearably so for those who aren’t a fan of slow-paced books), but it was a surprisingly quiet and gentle read for a book that takes place in the grey zone of the Russo-Ukrainian War. This conflict was simultaneously in the background and foreground, by which, I mean it wasn’t the focus of the novel, but it certainly had a large impact on the lives of civilians. I think this book placing focus on these civilians, specifically a beekeeper, as opposed to what we see in the news was refreshing. Thinking back to my experience reading this book, it’s a bit surprising to realize that Kurkov did a deep dive into what makes humans... well, human. Despite war, relationships are formed and developed; people are still cooking, having conversations over drinks, having sex, and other relatively mundane activities— Things continue to happen, and I think Kurkov did a great job capturing that.

There are some heartbreaking moments, especially the instances when the impact of war really comes to the forefront, but overall, this wasn’t about conflict and politics. It was about humans being themselves and going about their lives as best as they can.

I wasn’t a fan of how slow this book was, but I understand the reason for it and, overall, I think I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I’m certainly glad to have read this— 
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ssreadsintranslation's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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srm's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

A beautiful and quiet book I expect to stay with me for a long time. 

Thank you Deep Vellum for the ARC.
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