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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
fast-paced
A quick read and a different style of writing to look into for all writers.
First read: A spare, lovely book that memorializes a second marriage.
Second read: this book contains multitudes. The short sections are marvels of economy and have so much depth of emotion. I am in awe of this book. Why did I only give it 4 stars the first time?
Second read: this book contains multitudes. The short sections are marvels of economy and have so much depth of emotion. I am in awe of this book. Why did I only give it 4 stars the first time?
Snippets from her life? Or the essential essences of her experiences? She allows us to read her mind. She is not concerned with a showy life. She hones in on human connection and the pitfalls she overcame, bumped in to and survived. Very well done.
This was amazing, the writing will drag you in. I like how much you learn about her, despite not going away having a picture of her life. You will have an idea of her.
I had to read this for my creative nonfiction writing class. I think I'm the only one who didn't really like it. They all thought the POV changes were brilliant, while I thought they were wildly inconsistent. I would have preferred this to all be in the first person, and chronologically. I do admire what Thomas did, though, which is writing a memoir. I feel like that takes guts, and I don't want to shit on that.
I enjoyed this book in the way I might enjoy a light (but not vacuous) conversation. I mean this kindly. While I didn't find the prose itself particularly remarkable, there is a sense in which this seems appropriate for the content. It feels unburdened. The form, which consists of a series of fragments, works well for a memoir - giving the sense that the author hasn't tried too hard to maintain a definitive narrative, and so, hasn't lost the truth in the telling. Moments can emerge more honestly without re-sculpting the sentiments involved in the interest of consistency.
I wasn't prepared for the creativity in the writing style. It reads like fragments, so at first I really felt I was reading a diary. It took me a while to adjust and get used to the style. Naturally, in order to understand what the book is really about, I asked myself not to pass any judgements until I have finished the whole book.
Yes, during some parts of the book I was distracted, and that was why I took some points off in my review. But I still think this style is so creative and the fragments are so real--how we remember our own life stories. More real than I felt about any memoirs or autobiography. For that, I really appreciated the book. It was beautiful.
This is a book I know I want to re-read, perhaps a few years later and I have a feeling that after a second read I would give a higher rating.
Yes, during some parts of the book I was distracted, and that was why I took some points off in my review. But I still think this style is so creative and the fragments are so real--how we remember our own life stories. More real than I felt about any memoirs or autobiography. For that, I really appreciated the book. It was beautiful.
This is a book I know I want to re-read, perhaps a few years later and I have a feeling that after a second read I would give a higher rating.