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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
bewitching.
« ‘always learn poems by heart,’ she said. ‘they have to become the marrow in your bones. like fluoride in the water, they’ll make your soul impervious to the world’s soft decay’ »
« ‘always learn poems by heart,’ she said. ‘they have to become the marrow in your bones. like fluoride in the water, they’ll make your soul impervious to the world’s soft decay’ »
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reread 1/24
This was one of the first non-YA books I can ever remember reading (2005ish?) and it made me fall in love with reading. It well overdue for a reread and it did not disappoint - it is so gorgeously written and so heartbreakingly beautiful. Following Astrid through her traumatic relationship with her emotionally abusive mother, and through abusive foster homes and coming into herself in adulthood through art, ugh what a masterpiece. Forever one of my all time favorites.
This was one of the first non-YA books I can ever remember reading (2005ish?) and it made me fall in love with reading. It well overdue for a reread and it did not disappoint - it is so gorgeously written and so heartbreakingly beautiful. Following Astrid through her traumatic relationship with her emotionally abusive mother, and through abusive foster homes and coming into herself in adulthood through art, ugh what a masterpiece. Forever one of my all time favorites.
I am very upset that no one forced me to read this book when I was it was popular, back when I was in high school. That being said, I'm glad I finally read this masterpiece. Its characters, poetry, and themes will forever resonant with me.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
oleander time, lovers who kill each other now will blame it on the wind
i can still taste Astrid's final passage on the tip of my tongue and feel it permeating deep in my soul. fitch is a master at crafting language. her images are sharp and flow like poetry, thousands of years ago i could see her as a greek master of the epic. that’s how good she is.
always learn poems by heart. they have to become the marrow in your bones. like fluoride in the water, they'll make your soul impervious to the world's soft decay
if you decide to read this book do it if for nothing else but the breathtaking rhythmic prose. from Astrid's chaotic consciousness (you're not the only beauty in the world, mother. there is burnished teak as well as alabaster, rippling mahogany as well as silk. and a world of satisfaction where you found only fury and desire) to her mother's heartbreaking epistles (it's such a liability to love another person, but in here, it's like playing catch with grenades... sometimes i wish you were dead, so i would know you were safe) the feeling of the novel is palpable, and fitch's writing is the beating heart at the center of it all.
the reason why this book was not a five star read as i had expected upon beginning the first few chapters is that it was a little bit over the top. i found that it's melodrama, punctuated by tragedy striking Astrid's life every few chapters or so, barely avoided devolving into an eye-roll inducing tv drama. what was incredibly compelling at first became trite as i followed Astrid through hell over and over again. it did not help that she rarely considered the tragedies of her past after a few chapters from when they occurred, which for a 14 year old girl would probably not ring true in the real world. fortunately Fitch still manages to ground the narrative through Astrid's relationship with her mother. her journey towards self discovery and how it fought both with and against that relationship was the true beauty of White Oleander, and its presence throughout was the saving grace from the ever possible disconnect between the reader and such an oft overwrought novel.
other than that i would say that certain topics were handled less gracefully than they could have been, from her second foster home whose bigotry left a myriad of slurs being plastered on every other page for chapters on end to the absence of any hint of condemnation for characters such as uncle ray, who gets off relatively scot-free for statutory rape. you could argue that this lack of grace makes the novel more realistic, but it also borders on irresponsible.
of course white oleander as a debut publication is impressive, and i would not have guessed that it was if i didn't already know. ultimately i have to say i am a little disappointed, but i don't regret the read at all. i could see myself rereading passages of this, flipping through marked quotes to savor for months or even years, just not the story as a whole.
I know what you are learning to endure. there is nothing to be done. make sure nothing is wasted. take notes. remember it all, every insult, every fear. tattoo it on the inside of your mind. in life, knowledge of poisons is essential. i've told you, nobody becomes an artist unless they have to
the nearest i'd come to feeling anything like god was the plain blue cloudless sky and a certain silence, but how do you pray to that?
i can still taste Astrid's final passage on the tip of my tongue and feel it permeating deep in my soul. fitch is a master at crafting language. her images are sharp and flow like poetry, thousands of years ago i could see her as a greek master of the epic. that’s how good she is.
always learn poems by heart. they have to become the marrow in your bones. like fluoride in the water, they'll make your soul impervious to the world's soft decay
if you decide to read this book do it if for nothing else but the breathtaking rhythmic prose. from Astrid's chaotic consciousness (you're not the only beauty in the world, mother. there is burnished teak as well as alabaster, rippling mahogany as well as silk. and a world of satisfaction where you found only fury and desire) to her mother's heartbreaking epistles (it's such a liability to love another person, but in here, it's like playing catch with grenades... sometimes i wish you were dead, so i would know you were safe) the feeling of the novel is palpable, and fitch's writing is the beating heart at the center of it all.
the reason why this book was not a five star read as i had expected upon beginning the first few chapters is that it was a little bit over the top. i found that it's melodrama, punctuated by tragedy striking Astrid's life every few chapters or so, barely avoided devolving into an eye-roll inducing tv drama. what was incredibly compelling at first became trite as i followed Astrid through hell over and over again. it did not help that she rarely considered the tragedies of her past after a few chapters from when they occurred, which for a 14 year old girl would probably not ring true in the real world. fortunately Fitch still manages to ground the narrative through Astrid's relationship with her mother. her journey towards self discovery and how it fought both with and against that relationship was the true beauty of White Oleander, and its presence throughout was the saving grace from the ever possible disconnect between the reader and such an oft overwrought novel.
other than that i would say that certain topics were handled less gracefully than they could have been, from her second foster home whose bigotry left a myriad of slurs being plastered on every other page for chapters on end to the absence of any hint of condemnation for characters such as uncle ray, who gets off relatively scot-free for statutory rape. you could argue that this lack of grace makes the novel more realistic, but it also borders on irresponsible.
of course white oleander as a debut publication is impressive, and i would not have guessed that it was if i didn't already know. ultimately i have to say i am a little disappointed, but i don't regret the read at all. i could see myself rereading passages of this, flipping through marked quotes to savor for months or even years, just not the story as a whole.
I know what you are learning to endure. there is nothing to be done. make sure nothing is wasted. take notes. remember it all, every insult, every fear. tattoo it on the inside of your mind. in life, knowledge of poisons is essential. i've told you, nobody becomes an artist unless they have to
the nearest i'd come to feeling anything like god was the plain blue cloudless sky and a certain silence, but how do you pray to that?
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Poetic and tragic, this book is a web of power plays and powerless characters.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes