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whatsmomreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.0
Vesta Gul is a widow, entering her Golden Years and reflecting on her life when she stumbles upon a note in the forest on her land alluding to the death (or murder) of a woman named Magda. What follows is Vesta spiraling out of control as she attempts to discern reality from her own imagination.
I have always joked that my plan once I’m over 70 is to buy a piece of land in the middle of nowhere and have a dog or two, so I immediately had a soft spot for Vesta. Experiencing her unraveling reminded me of how often we can create these stories and “realities” in our own minds based off of little to no information and get wrapped up in them.
I mentioned in my stories that this was my first time listening to an audiobook and the voice actor does such a brilliant job bringing Vesta to life that I felt completely sucked into the story she was creating, then I’d pause and have to remind myself this was all in Vesta’s head! 🙇🏻♀️
abigailmariexx's review against another edition
2.5
A story of a rambling old lady who didn’t deserve a dog.
alienarumpf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.5
easyvisionary's review against another edition
3.0
I think I could tell very early on that the story wasn’t real. The way Vesta wrote the entire plot of a possible murder and then all the characters were suddenly real. Like how would she be able to guess correctly the names of the people involved based off a note alone. And that she would run into them with no problems. And then that last half where the plot was kind of abandoned?? It’s a frustrating read.
I liked how this was written but you finish it with nothing. It wasn’t real. I sometimes love the it was all an illusion or in her head kind of thing but this just wasn’t that for me the way I wanted it to be. Not enough happened.
I liked how this was written but you finish it with nothing. It wasn’t real. I sometimes love the it was all an illusion or in her head kind of thing but this just wasn’t that for me the way I wanted it to be. Not enough happened.
cdbird17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.75
absolute_bookery's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ugh, I should have read it because the audio narrator was the WORST. This book actually just pissed me off but I think that was the point ?!
fantasynovel's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of the weirdest books I've ever read, but I really enjoyed it. I think it's a metaphor about writing books as well as a meditation on loneliness. As a metaphor, it's super excellent. It really captures the insanity of creating a character, putting them in a world, etc. As a meditation, it's also good. Like, this woman is lonely! Plus her schizophrenic worldview was so well done.
xtie's review against another edition
4.0
Creepy! Couldn’t put it down! Read it in a dark cabin with no internet in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep for hours afterwards!