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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Quite slow to get going, and therefore I didn't really reach for it much initially but I'm glad I stuck with it because the second half was great.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“[...] just like I was a different person now to the happy husband who was once married to Mary Rose, some new, half-living creature that had climbed out of the husk of that husband, someone I hardly even recognised as myself.”
“I was neither dead nor alive, but doomed to wander a desolate space between the two.”
2021 Women's Prize for Fiction longlist
Buddy read with Hannah and Charlie!
What a wonderful little book. Kathleen MacMahon has written a gorgeous, ponderous story about life after the death of a loved one, and how grief never really goes away; it just becomes more manageable over time. Grief follows you, haunts you, hovers over you at all times, a dark cloud over an otherwise sunny day. Oftentimes, it feels inescapable, incurable; when you are grieving, it is easy to convince yourself that you will never be happy again. But life, fickle little life, has a way of filling the holes that tragedy leaves behind, and this book captures that lifecycle in quiet, intimate detail. Although I'm not grieving anything quite as serious as a death, I am currently grieving something personal and painful, and this book made me feel as if my pain had been plagiarised and reworded better than I could ever hope to articulate it. It's quiet, contemplative, and hesitantly hopeful, and I would have loved to see it on the shortlist.
“I was neither dead nor alive, but doomed to wander a desolate space between the two.”
2021 Women's Prize for Fiction longlist
Buddy read with Hannah and Charlie!
What a wonderful little book. Kathleen MacMahon has written a gorgeous, ponderous story about life after the death of a loved one, and how grief never really goes away; it just becomes more manageable over time. Grief follows you, haunts you, hovers over you at all times, a dark cloud over an otherwise sunny day. Oftentimes, it feels inescapable, incurable; when you are grieving, it is easy to convince yourself that you will never be happy again. But life, fickle little life, has a way of filling the holes that tragedy leaves behind, and this book captures that lifecycle in quiet, intimate detail. Although I'm not grieving anything quite as serious as a death, I am currently grieving something personal and painful, and this book made me feel as if my pain had been plagiarised and reworded better than I could ever hope to articulate it. It's quiet, contemplative, and hesitantly hopeful, and I would have loved to see it on the shortlist.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Really enjoyed this book, aside from the Brexit digs (unnecessary). I didn't like the main character at all; thought he was a bit of a chode, but this is at odds with the fact that he is grieving and I felt sorry for him.
It's an excellent portrayal of grief and an interesting insight into a marriage.
Sad and reflective, the book held my interest for the most part.
It's an excellent portrayal of grief and an interesting insight into a marriage.
Sad and reflective, the book held my interest for the most part.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief
Minor: Miscarriage
emotional
reflective
sad
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Grief, Marriage, Relationships, Opportunities and Emotions both missed and experienced.