cassinchapters TBR'd a book

Siddhartha
Hermann Hesse
cassinchapters TBR'd a book

Circe
Madeline Miller
cassinchapters TBR'd a book

The Last Man on Earth: A Survival Romance
Shae Sanders
cassinchapters wrote a review...
3.3⭐ (rounded up)
What nature had accomplished, men wanted to undo.
This novel follows the construction of the Panama Canal through multiple interconnected storylines and perspectives. I honestly didn’t know much about the Panama Canal going into this, so I was really excited to learn more about such a massive historical feat and how it impacted the people of Panama and the surrounding countries. The book delivered somewhat in this respect in that I appreciated learning about the Canal as a global undertaking and loved learning about the perspectives of individuals from different walks of life, nationalities, objectives, and occupations. I also love how the novel highlights people often erased or minimized, especially women of color and laborers. The novel touches on a lot of important themes too, including colonialism, labor exploitation, racism, class disparity, traditional gender roles, and Western entitlement.
That said...I struggled with the structure quite a bit. The multi-POV format made the story feel fragmented for me, and because we were constantly jumping between characters, I never fully connected emotionally with any one storyline. I kept wishing the novel had narrowed its focus to one family or a smaller group of characters because I think the emotional payoff would’ve been much stronger. The pacing also dragged for me personally, and I found myself putting the book down a lot instead of feeling pulled to keep reading.
Even though this wasn’t a favorite, I still think the novel was mostly enjoyable and found the story important to tell. It’s thoughtfully written and genuinely made me want to learn more about the Panama Canal afterward. It was not my favorite read but definitely a memorable exploration of the human cost behind "progress." This one is great for readers who enjoy slower lit/historical fiction.
cassinchapters TBR'd a book

Pachinko
Min Jin Lee
cassinchapters TBR'd a book

The Heiress
Rachel Hawkins
cassinchapters TBR'd a book

Scarborough
Catherine Hernandez
cassinchapters started reading...

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Victoria Schwab
cassinchapters finished a book

The Great Divide
Cristina Henríquez
cassinchapters commented on a post
cassinchapters TBR'd a book

Next of Kin (Next, #1)
Hannah Bonam-Young
cassinchapters started reading...

The Great Divide
Cristina Henríquez
cassinchapters commented on a post
cassinchapters wrote a review...
View spoiler