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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh, I loved it, but I'm admittedly a sucker for bleak/real relationship stories.
Simple but frequently beautiful sentences, and the fragmented structure made it very fast.
Simple but frequently beautiful sentences, and the fragmented structure made it very fast.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sigh I deleted my first reviews so no flowery language for you people.
The first half of the book was rather droll and was rife with the stench of a two star review. There was something vaguely insightful about how the narrator had to sacrifice her ambitions to focus on family, but frankly, it was hard to care when the prose felt so lifeless. I believe that Chemistry by Weike Wang was compared to this novel while being marketed, but it seemed to be the superior novel to me due to its strength of heart and the gentle humour that seemed to flit between each turn of phrase.
However, this was very much improved in the second half of the novel, post-adultery, when everything became more exciting. The narrator started referring to herself in the third person (she then transitioned back to the first person in the conclusion), which, as you can tell, sounds terribly contrived and cliche and altogether just irritating, frankly. However, I actually found it rather moving in practice? Perhaps my taste level is a little sickening, but I did enjoy this supposedly subtle, but in actuality, unsubtle, detail.
I usually enjoy works that I can relate to, so the narrator’s rather biting self deprecation was something I devoured with great relish. Depressed and going through a divorce? Time to joke about it with all your students. Crying because your shitty mental health gave you a panic attack, forcing you to leave your child behind at home while she calls for you? Scared that this means you’re an inadequate parent when you’re already a disappointment of an author and a failure of a wife? Just compare yourself to a crying clown and then slip in a snide remark about how your new novel has too many crying scenes. It’s this snide way of demoralising oneself, this rather unhealthy refusal to take one’s emotions even the slightest bit seriously that I adored in the narrator.
(Speaking of the narrator being a failure of a mother/wife, this also fits with how she gave up her writing ambitions to focus on her husband and child. After all, it feels as if she gave up her dreams for nothing, which must suck.)
I think this extreme awareness is most wonderfully encapsulated in the scene where she confronts her husband’s mistress. The way she insists on being an observer, detaching herself from the situation to talk about the cliché nature of the moment, and the unsightliness of her barbaric behaviour to outsiders and the general public is juxtaposed with the intensity of her fury.
There’s also a rather striking scene where her ex-boyfriend seems disgusted by her, furthering the extent of her insecurities.
All in all, this was a heartrending portrayal of how it feels to be a failure at life itself, and how one attempts to pick up the pieces. None of this would have happened if she’d just dated the oddly hot philosopher though. Probably superior to Chemistry.
Hugs and kisses! xoxo
The first half of the book was rather droll and was rife with the stench of a two star review. There was something vaguely insightful about how the narrator had to sacrifice her ambitions to focus on family, but frankly, it was hard to care when the prose felt so lifeless. I believe that Chemistry by Weike Wang was compared to this novel while being marketed, but it seemed to be the superior novel to me due to its strength of heart and the gentle humour that seemed to flit between each turn of phrase.
However, this was very much improved in the second half of the novel, post-adultery, when everything became more exciting. The narrator started referring to herself in the third person (she then transitioned back to the first person in the conclusion), which, as you can tell, sounds terribly contrived and cliche and altogether just irritating, frankly. However, I actually found it rather moving in practice? Perhaps my taste level is a little sickening, but I did enjoy this supposedly subtle, but in actuality, unsubtle, detail.
I usually enjoy works that I can relate to, so the narrator’s rather biting self deprecation was something I devoured with great relish. Depressed and going through a divorce? Time to joke about it with all your students. Crying because your shitty mental health gave you a panic attack, forcing you to leave your child behind at home while she calls for you? Scared that this means you’re an inadequate parent when you’re already a disappointment of an author and a failure of a wife? Just compare yourself to a crying clown and then slip in a snide remark about how your new novel has too many crying scenes. It’s this snide way of demoralising oneself, this rather unhealthy refusal to take one’s emotions even the slightest bit seriously that I adored in the narrator.
(Speaking of the narrator being a failure of a mother/wife, this also fits with how she gave up her writing ambitions to focus on her husband and child. After all, it feels as if she gave up her dreams for nothing, which must suck.)
I think this extreme awareness is most wonderfully encapsulated in the scene where she confronts her husband’s mistress. The way she insists on being an observer, detaching herself from the situation to talk about the cliché nature of the moment, and the unsightliness of her barbaric behaviour to outsiders and the general public is juxtaposed with the intensity of her fury.
There’s also a rather striking scene where her ex-boyfriend seems disgusted by her, furthering the extent of her insecurities.
All in all, this was a heartrending portrayal of how it feels to be a failure at life itself, and how one attempts to pick up the pieces. None of this would have happened if she’d just dated the oddly hot philosopher though. Probably superior to Chemistry.
Hugs and kisses! xoxo
fast-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
This book made all the "Best Of" lists and I am puzzled. I have never written a book and have immense respect for anyone who has, been published and certainly made all the "Best Of" lists. But this was just air to me. There would be a good, deep thought and then poof - gone in one sentence. Brevity is welcome and there is a fine line to jump to over-written, but this was like random jottings. Like she had the ideas but just couldn't put it together or maybe didn't want to. I don't know but I was very disappointed and will remember to beware the "Best Of" lists.
I recently read a quote from Joyce Carol Oates described modern literature as being wan little husks of auto-fiction and it feels she could have been describing this book about the fallout of an affair on a marriage, which never felt like it had anything profound to say, even whilst saying it was a sharp and brilliant writing style. As good as it was I was left unsatisfied, and looking for something more substantial.
emotional
slow-paced