Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Commonwealth

Saw it on the kitchen counter, remembered Ima recommended it, and then read it in 3 days. Was good. At times not gripping enough and found myaelf putting it down, somewhat bored. I liked the writing, though some of the characters were too similar (or not distinct enough?) and so I found myself mixing them. It didn't help that the plot kept moving between years and decades, so sometimes it was hard to distinguish what was happening. Without having read the blurb beforehand, I'd have no idea what was going on. Still - enjoyed it, though it was quite sad throughout it.

Content Warnings

miap09's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Content Warnings

avasbookmark's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.25

Content Warnings

macyh3's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

the concept was phenomenal. the chapters individually were perfectly structured, almost like little short stories that tie together into a whole. i loved seeing the relationships between the characters develop and change, sometimes moving backwards in time. the sibling and familial relationships felt really raw and real. The authors voice was really cohesive and witty, and a lot of the language was brilliant— just a brilliant writing style, i’ve never read anything quite like it.

cons… it took me a second to get over the mid-book hump, but i really enjoyed this book. slower than i usually like, and the jumps between family and time confused me sometimes. i ended up having to draw out a family tree to keep track of who was related to who. I wish that there were fewer characters to get into the complexities of each one, i feel like more could’ve been done.

Here are some quotes that stood out to me, simply because of her brilliant and unique writing style.

“Eric was in ever sense a wiry man, a runner with a small frame who must have once been told that blue complemented his eyes. Franny had never seen Eric in anything other than blue.”

“His daughter from the first marriage always needed money because she needed so much more than money but money was the easiest way for her to express those needs.”

“At the airport, Teresa handed over the tickets Bert had sent and put her children on the plane to Virginia without suitcases… Let Bert hit the ground running, she thought. They needed everything: he could start with toothbrushes and pajamas and work his way up...Beverly Cousins wanted her family? Have at it.”

and my personal favourite…
“The two sisters were connected by neither love nor mutual affinity but by a very small bathroom that could be entered from the bedroom on either side.”

Content Warnings

bookedbymadeline's review

Go to review page

After trying to read this the last few days, I'm calling it quits.

The chronology is a mess. I'd be reading in the present, then all of a sudden it flashed back to the past without any indication.

It also skipped whole decades so from the first chapter to the second we have no explanations about what happened at the beginning and we're now 3o/40/so years later? It's also just too slow and overly descriptive for my taste; I do not enjoy novels that go into every single minuscule detail when there's no purpose for it so this isn't my cup of tea.

Content Warnings

More...