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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Truly a wild read. I picked this up at the library and skimmed the blurb not knowing anything about the plot. It was uniquely written, as if it were a transcript of a phone call. Bomb shell after bomb shell is dropped as we delve into the lives and history between our two main characters. Themes of loss, grief, abandonment and resentment prevail. It feels as if you are listening to gossip from your home town. Parts of the novel were shocking and as the stories become more intertwined you are thrown further into thee deep end. Definitely recommend going into this with little knowledge of the book, as it’ll make it more enjoyable. Strange but in the best way possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence
challenging
funny
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So funny and clever, and not without drama. I loved this book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Infidelity
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, Murder
This novel was sent to me by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
Such a brilliant read. It is also a relatively quick read being 140 pages. I loved the quirkiness of this and I lost count of the number of times that I laughed out loud.
The novel starts with Nives pulling the body of her husband out of the pigsty where he has collapsed. She then replaces him with a hen, bringing one her hens into the house for company. When this hen goes into a trance watching TV and she is unable to get it to respond to her, she phones the vet, Loriano. What happens then is their telephone conversation that is the remainder of the novel.
This conversation is wonderful and you get a real sense of these two characters who have known each other for years and years. Nives drops bombshell after bombshell as they reminisce about their lives, the lives of their spouses and children. The conversation is full of comedy, but it is also full of regret, there are some poignant and some painful moments. There is even a twist at the end.
A short, powerful novel of grief, love and regret. A novel packed with humour and emotion. I loved this. Thank you Netgalley and Europa Editions for allowing me to read this.
Such a brilliant read. It is also a relatively quick read being 140 pages. I loved the quirkiness of this and I lost count of the number of times that I laughed out loud.
The novel starts with Nives pulling the body of her husband out of the pigsty where he has collapsed. She then replaces him with a hen, bringing one her hens into the house for company. When this hen goes into a trance watching TV and she is unable to get it to respond to her, she phones the vet, Loriano. What happens then is their telephone conversation that is the remainder of the novel.
This conversation is wonderful and you get a real sense of these two characters who have known each other for years and years. Nives drops bombshell after bombshell as they reminisce about their lives, the lives of their spouses and children. The conversation is full of comedy, but it is also full of regret, there are some poignant and some painful moments. There is even a twist at the end.
A short, powerful novel of grief, love and regret. A novel packed with humour and emotion. I loved this. Thank you Netgalley and Europa Editions for allowing me to read this.
This is a book I want to shove in people's faces with "you *have* to read this!!". From the first page it delivers sharp slaps that make you sit up and take notice. It's short - a novella, really - but tightly written. A review on the back of the cover makes a comparison with a play, and I agree, it could easily be a play. It defies easy classification genre-wise; as I was reading it I thought it was going to be a gritty dark fiction of survival and finding yourself, then I thought maybe it had a touch of fantasy/paranormal, then maybe a murder mystery, or a love story, or a multi-generational family drama... or... In a way, it is all of these things. In only 128 smallish pages.
Plot-wise, I suggest going into it knowing the bare minimum and setting aside an evening to read the whole thing. This is what I did and it was a wild ride. I'll say this: it's about Nives, a newly minted widow of a farmer. She is strong and she is feisty as hell and it turns out her life was full of secrets and adventures that no one would suspect and we get a voyeuristic glimpse into them. The narrative is a rollercoaster with genuinely laugh-out-loud lines. I loved it.
Plot-wise, I suggest going into it knowing the bare minimum and setting aside an evening to read the whole thing. This is what I did and it was a wild ride. I'll say this: it's about Nives, a newly minted widow of a farmer. She is strong and she is feisty as hell and it turns out her life was full of secrets and adventures that no one would suspect and we get a voyeuristic glimpse into them. The narrative is a rollercoaster with genuinely laugh-out-loud lines. I loved it.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
At times confusing and tiring to follow because of the back-and-forth dialogue. It most definitely went in directions I didn’t expect, which I have mixed feelings about. My favorite character was the chicken.