Tournament of Books discussion

location to discuss The Down Days for play-in

Goodness this is quite a book. I'm not sure I love it but it definitely has me captivated and will be an interesting discussion in March!

Just caught a reference to Ghostbusters, which made me smile.

I’ve gotten a couple hours into the audiobook and am enjoying it, but having a hard time keeping all the characters straight!

I'm only 20 pages in, but I love it so far - just what I'm in the mood for. So far, its got the feel of Zoo City by Lauren Beukes, another South African author that I love. Beukes has taken a turn into horror, a path that's hard for me to follow, so I'm hoping this book starts where Beukes left off for me.

Turned out to be a five star book for me, because it did what it set out to do almost perfectly. And it was just the right book for my mood - after a couple of weeks of reading moodiness when no book seemed to make me happy. It's not the right kind of book to make it all the way through the ToB, but I'm so glad the tournament put it on my radar!

My review, spoiler hidden.

Nadine wrote: "Turned out to be a five star book for me, because it did what it set out to do almost perfectly. And it was just the right book for my mood - after a couple of weeks of reading moodiness when no bo..."

Thanks, Nadine! I have it out from the library, and I'll move it up in the pile now. You've gotten me intrigued. (I did read the sample a couple of weeks ago, and the prescience was freaking me out a little!)

I couldn't believe how much I loved this! I started it this morning and could not put it down, despite being hesitate for the first few chapters.

Oh man, I'm feeling so left out! I tried listening to this a few weeks ago but my brain was blocking it, likely because it's about a pandemic and I really don't want to read about that right now. I wasn't able to keep track of the characters or storyline at all through audio. I got a print copy for Christmas and I'm at the halfway mark. I now have a better feel for the characters and what's happening, so I'm considering switching back to audio. Reading it in print feels like I'm slogging through and would rather be reading something else. Hopefully switching back to audio will get me through it more quickly and maybe I'll see some of what you all enjoyed about it? Wish me luck!

When I started it, I questioned whether I wanted to read it, but it completely overtook my day. I hope you enjoy it more this time.

Lauren wrote: " Reading it in print feels like I'm slogging through and would rather be reading something else."

That's how I felt (I'm still a print-only reader), so I DNF'd it.

The prose compares poorly to the other 6 I've read so far - which have been terrific. (Well, finished 5, working on the 6th.) I have some quibbles with some of those books, but not with the prose. I don't know if this is just a particularly good year, but =The Down Days= has been my only real disappointment so far. (Perhaps there are more waiting for me, I'm not even half-way through the list yet.)

I really enjoyed The Down Days. As compared to the other play-in books, I thought the writing, plot, characters, and overall story were much better than in The Resisters, and the story and reading experience was far less distressing than that of Red Pill. You've got to hand it to the author for imagining the ways that people go bat-sh*t crazy during a pandemic -- who knew? Oh, apparently Ilze Hugo.

I just finished this one and was underwhelmed. I didn’t have any trouble with the full cast of characters because I kept a running list of the characters and updated it as I read along. That was helpful. Even though I followed the story, however, I didn’t get drawn into it. Reading this remained a task to complete rather than an enjoyable pursuit. I agree with others who have questioned the prose quality. In so many places, I thought the writing felt clunky and unpolished compared to other TOB contenders. Also, with some minor exceptions, the characters’ choices and motivations felt forced and not fully supported by the context or their personalities. There certainly were a lot of people working for free without obvious sources of income. Finally, the short chapters and quick cuts made this feel more like a video game experience than a fully developed novel. The quick changes were unsettling to me, and I couldn’t develop a flow while reading. I see many others liked this one, so this just not the right book for me at this time. Glad the rest of you enjoyed it!

Gwendolyn wrote: "I just finished this one and was underwhelmed. I didn’t have any trouble with the full cast of characters because I kept a running list of the characters and updated it as I read along. That was he..."

I also just finished it and have similar feelings. I ended up being more engaged in the end, but I wouldn't call it an enjoyable experience getting there. It was a bit of a chore, and I just really wish the organizers didn't add so much dystopia/pandemic-related material to the short list this year. :/ 2.5 stars for me.

Phyllis wrote: "I really enjoyed The Down Days. As compared to the other play-in books, I thought the writing, plot, characters, and overall story were much better than in The Resisters, and the story and reading ..."

Me too. I thought it was kind of a fun fantasy adventure kind of pandemic, which made for a nice reading experience during a real pandemic. Video-gamish in a good way.

I was into it and then it totally lost me at the end. Like I really can't figure out what happened.

Audra wrote: "I was into it and then it totally lost me at the end. Like I really can't figure out what happened."

Me neither. The author set up this world then sort of just waved her hands around in the end not explaining anything. For my part I didn’t much enjoy the journey to this foggy end either, a lot of the plot points are confounding to me and the prose was average, at best, sometimes worse.

Lee wrote: "Audra wrote: "I was into it and then it totally lost me at the end. Like I really can't figure out what happened."

Me neither. The author set up this world then sort of just waved her hands around..."

I gave it 5 stars because it was the right book at the right time for me, but now with a little more distance, I can't give the ending a pass anymore, so 4 stars. But I liked the trip up until the end very much.

Yes, I like it and then the end came and I was like whut.

I liked it -- and frankly, don't remember the end. Can someone remind me (under spoiler bars, of course)?

Ellen wrote: "I liked it -- and frankly, don't remember the end. Can someone remind me (under spoiler bars, of course)?"

(view spoiler)[Tomorrow's baby brother Elliot's soul is found imprisoned in a vial of his hair in the convent, and we're told they get it freed by visiting someone who knows about such things. In the larger picture, riots and destruction lead to the living and the dead co-existing side by side somehow, and I think all the government injection-boxes and temperature checks are gone. It's vague. (hide spoiler)]

I don’t remember the end either...guess it wasn’t too memorable. I didn’t care much for the book throughout. I agree the prose was mediocre at best. I do understand why others liked this one, though. It was a bit more “fun” than some of the other dark picks on this year’s list.

Ok, that's kind of what I remembered. I guess I'm puzzled as to why it bothered people. It was what it was. I still preferred it to Red Pill. I'm just about to read The Resisters, but I've seen almost no chatter about it on here, so I'm thinking it wasn't a big favorite.

I finished The Down Days making me a completist for the 2nd year in a row.....yay! It was painful though and I never could have done it except I had a decent head start with what I had already read during the year.

Congrats Janet!

Hooray for Janet! I've finally gotten hold of Telephone so I predict I'll be a complete by next weekend.