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jckurtz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Drug abuse
brogan7's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
I was disappointed in this book. There is so much about it to like...grappling with climate change, dealing with a troubled brother, raising a child, relating to a friend who decides to retreat from the world in the face of the impending disaster...
But she doesn't penetrate any of these issues with any depth. She seems averse to creating a whole sentence, in fact (well maybe they're sentences but barely...okay, I've been reading Middlemarch alongside so maybe this isn't fair but honestly she doesn't stay with a thought for five minutes.). I wanted to know...the grit of, what happens with the brother? How does the niece's hair smell? (The baby seems like just a prop, never grazes real.). How do you as a human who cares, bear the weight of your loved ones' sorrows?
If Offill never hit a true note, I would dismiss this book as just unimportant, but I felt that she had something, she just didn't stay with it. I have a friend who is retreating from the world...I wanted to learn something, I wanted to relate... obviously Offill writes because she cares about these things, but then why doesn't she give anything? It's all a big sardonic joke. You survive by glossing the surfaces? I don't believe it. The way she writes suggests to me that she has lots to say, she just doesn't go there.
I wanted her to go there.
But she doesn't penetrate any of these issues with any depth. She seems averse to creating a whole sentence, in fact (well maybe they're sentences but barely...okay, I've been reading Middlemarch alongside so maybe this isn't fair but honestly she doesn't stay with a thought for five minutes.). I wanted to know...the grit of, what happens with the brother? How does the niece's hair smell? (The baby seems like just a prop, never grazes real.). How do you as a human who cares, bear the weight of your loved ones' sorrows?
If Offill never hit a true note, I would dismiss this book as just unimportant, but I felt that she had something, she just didn't stay with it. I have a friend who is retreating from the world...I wanted to learn something, I wanted to relate... obviously Offill writes because she cares about these things, but then why doesn't she give anything? It's all a big sardonic joke. You survive by glossing the surfaces? I don't believe it. The way she writes suggests to me that she has lots to say, she just doesn't go there.
I wanted her to go there.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, and Alcoholism
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