The diversity of the characters

Use this forum to discuss the February 2019 Book of the month, "The Warramunga's War" by Greg Kater.
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The diversity of the characters

Post by Anon_Reviewer »

From Australia to Egypt and back, The Warramunga's War introduces a wide range of characters. More than the Warramunga, one also meets French, English, Arab, Australian, Czech, and German characters. At times, Kater even allows these characters to say phrases in their native tongues.

Did you find this distracting as you were reading, or did it enhance the book for you? Also, what are your thoughts on how diversity is portrayed in the book, in general?
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Post by briellejee »

I like the diversity this book has! I can say that it did enhance the book. The diversity makes you aware of the character's rich background, and the country where they're from - which makes it overall interesting. Also, it made the book well-researched for me. In the second book of this series, Kater's take on diversity also takes place. He included a Filipino child as one of his characters.

PS. The author is a friend of mine on Facebook, and I can say that he based his stories and characters on his travels. He travels A LOT by the way. I think I recall him posting about another book wherein you can see a history of China where he traveled recently.
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Post by Quinto »

The diversity worked for me as I found this book refreshing and unique because of it. First, I come across the title and it made me want to know more about the title. Afterwards, as the story unfolds I meet all this diverse characters.
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Post by Anon_Reviewer »

briellejee wrote: 07 Feb 2019, 01:16 I like the diversity this book has! I can say that it did enhance the book. The diversity makes you aware of the character's rich background, and the country where they're from - which makes it overall interesting. Also, it made the book well-researched for me. In the second book of this series, Kater's take on diversity also takes place. He included a Filipino child as one of his characters.

PS. The author is a friend of mine on Facebook, and I can say that he based his stories and characters on his travels. He travels A LOT by the way. I think I recall him posting about another book wherein you can see a history of China where he traveled recently.
I completely agree with you on this one. The diverse characters came across as genuine and realistic. I haven't read the other books in the series. You have definitely piqued my interest. I need to check them out!

Oh well isn't that cool? :D Pity I don't have Facebook. I'd also want to be his friend!
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Post by Anon_Reviewer »

Quinto wrote: 07 Feb 2019, 09:10 The diversity worked for me as I found this book refreshing and unique because of it. First, I come across the title and it made me want to know more about the title. Afterwards, as the story unfolds I meet all this diverse characters.
I was also drawn in by the title. Like you, I was pleasantly surprised when even more diverse characters began to come through! :D
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Post by briellejee »

Ever_Reading wrote: 08 Feb 2019, 00:16
briellejee wrote: 07 Feb 2019, 01:16 I like the diversity this book has! I can say that it did enhance the book. The diversity makes you aware of the character's rich background, and the country where they're from - which makes it overall interesting. Also, it made the book well-researched for me. In the second book of this series, Kater's take on diversity also takes place. He included a Filipino child as one of his characters.

PS. The author is a friend of mine on Facebook, and I can say that he based his stories and characters on his travels. He travels A LOT by the way. I think I recall him posting about another book wherein you can see a history of China where he traveled recently.
I completely agree with you on this one. The diverse characters came across as genuine and realistic. I haven't read the other books in the series. You have definitely piqued my interest. I need to check them out!

Oh well isn't that cool? :D Pity I don't have Facebook. I'd also want to be his friend!
I think the second book is available to be reviewed but I only read the sample for it. I haven't finished the first book that time, so I had to skip it. Yes! They are worthy to be checked out. I was glad to know that he travels and puts it in his book. In that way, the research he had done for the characters are good and equipped with experience - making it more genuine and realistic. :tiphat:

I think he's also on Twitter and LinkedIn but not really sure.
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Post by chelhack »

I think that it's distract but yet, enhances the book at the same time. I say that because whem reading the book then you suddenly come to the part when they are speaking in their nataive tounge that it sort of stops the flow of the book to a point. Yet, it also makes the book that much more interesting and unquie as well.
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Post by Chikari »

The diversity in The Warramunga's War definitely enhanced the read for me! I love learning about different cultures and the way other people live and I find that both fiction and non-fiction having diversity in characters is a great way to educate others. Of course, the author has to be careful not to fall into typical stereotypes for people either.
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Post by fictaddict »

It always irks me when characters go to another country (especially in a historical novel), and meet people who talk and act just like modern-day Americans. It makes me think the author has never traveled.
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Post by Anna Maria 86 »

I really liked the diversity. At uni I went to an exchange program, and it was amazing to all of a sudden find myself in a room with people of at least 10 different nationalities. As to the mother tongues used, I found it to be more realistic. Besides, they were only a couple of words or phrases that you could easily understand and remember, so it didn't disturb the flow.
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Post by Cardinalsparrow »

I like the diversity, it exposes the reader to other cultures which is a great ingredient for improving tolerance among people.
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Post by briellejee »

fictaddict wrote: 08 Feb 2019, 16:00 It always irks me when characters go to another country (especially in a historical novel), and meet people who talk and act just like modern-day Americans. It makes me think the author has never traveled.
If you're referring to the book, I think the author is well-versed in creating his diverse characters. And also, just a piece of information, the author of this book has traveled a lot. Apparently, most of his novels sprang from his travels, making them realistic enough. However, if you're not referring to the book, I guess I also don't like when people they meet from other countries talk and act like modern-day Americans. :techie-studyingbrown:
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Post by Anon_Reviewer »

briellejee wrote: 08 Feb 2019, 00:47
Ever_Reading wrote: 08 Feb 2019, 00:16
briellejee wrote: 07 Feb 2019, 01:16 I like the diversity this book has! I can say that it did enhance the book. The diversity makes you aware of the character's rich background, and the country where they're from - which makes it overall interesting. Also, it made the book well-researched for me. In the second book of this series, Kater's take on diversity also takes place. He included a Filipino child as one of his characters.

PS. The author is a friend of mine on Facebook, and I can say that he based his stories and characters on his travels. He travels A LOT by the way. I think I recall him posting about another book wherein you can see a history of China where he traveled recently.
I completely agree with you on this one. The diverse characters came across as genuine and realistic. I haven't read the other books in the series. You have definitely piqued my interest. I need to check them out!

Oh well isn't that cool? :D Pity I don't have Facebook. I'd also want to be his friend!
I think the second book is available to be reviewed but I only read the sample for it. I haven't finished the first book that time, so I had to skip it. Yes! They are worthy to be checked out. I was glad to know that he travels and puts it in his book. In that way, the research he had done for the characters are good and equipped with experience - making it more genuine and realistic. :tiphat:

I think he's also on Twitter and LinkedIn but not really sure.
I've been meaning to check the second book out but have been lazy. Hopefully I'll get around to reading it eventually.

Ooh, awesome I'll check him out on Twitter. :D
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Post by Anon_Reviewer »

chelhack wrote: 08 Feb 2019, 01:14 I think that it's distract but yet, enhances the book at the same time. I say that because whem reading the book then you suddenly come to the part when they are speaking in their nataive tounge that it sort of stops the flow of the book to a point. Yet, it also makes the book that much more interesting and unquie as well.
I totally get what you mean. I struggled most with Sarah's slang. Sometimes I would even have to reread some lines. Nonetheless, it added a unique flavour to the book.
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Post by Anon_Reviewer »

Chikari wrote: 08 Feb 2019, 01:46 The diversity in The Warramunga's War definitely enhanced the read for me! I love learning about different cultures and the way other people live and I find that both fiction and non-fiction having diversity in characters is a great way to educate others. Of course, the author has to be careful not to fall into typical stereotypes for people either.
Oh yeah, falling into stereotypes can easily happen if the author is not careful. But, I think Kater did a decent job.
I'm glad you liked the diversity of the characters.
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