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meglynw's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a pretty incredible piece of art.
The choice to not use quotation marks to denote conversation is interesting. It got a bit confusing at first, but it also achieves two things: it forces the reader to really pay attention, and it gives the feeling that we are experiencing everything in a single voice. We are hearing every word through the scope of Lu's experience, rather than being an observer of the happenings. We are only observing the observer.
The story itself is so filled with desperation; to understand, to fit in, to succeed, to break free of the past and all its little catches.
I had to take my time reading this, because it was demanding and heavy, but it was worth it.
The choice to not use quotation marks to denote conversation is interesting. It got a bit confusing at first, but it also achieves two things: it forces the reader to really pay attention, and it gives the feeling that we are experiencing everything in a single voice. We are hearing every word through the scope of Lu's experience, rather than being an observer of the happenings. We are only observing the observer.
The story itself is so filled with desperation; to understand, to fit in, to succeed, to break free of the past and all its little catches.
I had to take my time reading this, because it was demanding and heavy, but it was worth it.
paulsr2712's review against another edition
4.0
7/10, beautiful and touching, but let down by silly supernatural elements that get in the way of a believable narrative.
passanteltarek's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
lesserjoke's review against another edition
4.0
This debut novel from author Rachel Lyon paints a sickeningly captivating picture of a starving artist who accidentally captures her neighbor's nine-year-old son falling to his death in the background of a photography session. The resulting image of the dying boy is the best art she's ever made, and she knows it could launch her career — but also that the photograph would likely break his mother's heart to see it. I don't care much for the scenes when the boy's ghost appears to actually haunt the narrator, but her internal struggle over the ruthless cost of success, alongside Lyon's honest portrayal of hand-to-mouth poverty, is quietly riveting.
ellethinks's review against another edition
2.0
If this book had been tended to more, given more love and labor and editing, it could have been great.
What I liked:
- The prose, at times, was beautiful.
- The plot line was unique.
- The novel is deeply seeded in consciousness, so the lack of quotations worked for me.
What I did not like:
- The writing was inconsistent. When it was at it's best, it was airy and light. However, when it strayed from that, it strayed far.
- The book stars off in the future, and she looks back to this year in her life. I didn't feel like that added much, if anything, and when sporadically through the book you went back to the frame story, of sorts, it felt out of place.
- The themes of the book were all over the place. The book, at it's heart, is about a young woman making a decision and dealing with the consequences of it. It deals with her guilt, her friendships, her poorness, her sleepness, among other things. But then, in the last 40ish pages, some love nonsense is added in, which quite honestly just felt like a way to make the book more diverse. It wasn't built up to, it wasn't discussed, we never saw these thoughts in Lu's head. It was like reading a thriller novel with a nonsensical plot twist.
- Lu. I didn't mind her as a character. Some other reviewers found her unlikable, but there are plenty of unlikable people in the world so that doesn't bother me. What bothered me were the inconsistencies in her insights into others. Most of the time, she seemed to have no understanding of people's intentions, behaviors, thought processes, or other normal human things (like showing up to your shifts when your scheduled..) However, there were some moments, where she just seemed to get someone, what they were thinking and feeling. And as a reader, you knew she was correct in her "intuitions." But it was inconsistent to her character. It felt more like the author needed to give us some information, but didn't know how since it was a first person narrative. And, instead of using that framestory Lu, the one who had an understanding of how juvenile she was in this time of her life, she decided to use 26 year old Lu, who's quite clueless.
- The magical element was not well enough infused in the narrative to work for the author's purposes.
Never have I had such a tumultuous reading experience. I would go from loving to hating it in the scope of a chapter. And the last line made me angry. I don't want to say it read like a debut novel, because I've read some amazing debuts, but it read like it needed a few more rounds of editing.
Will I ever pick up another Rachel Lyon book? Maybe if I read reviews that the kinks of her writing style here was mended.
What I liked:
- The prose, at times, was beautiful.
- The plot line was unique.
- The novel is deeply seeded in consciousness, so the lack of quotations worked for me.
What I did not like:
- The writing was inconsistent. When it was at it's best, it was airy and light. However, when it strayed from that, it strayed far.
- The book stars off in the future, and she looks back to this year in her life. I didn't feel like that added much, if anything, and when sporadically through the book you went back to the frame story, of sorts, it felt out of place.
- The themes of the book were all over the place. The book, at it's heart, is about a young woman making a decision and dealing with the consequences of it. It deals with her guilt, her friendships, her poorness, her sleepness, among other things. But then, in the last 40ish pages, some love nonsense is added in, which quite honestly just felt like a way to make the book more diverse. It wasn't built up to, it wasn't discussed, we never saw these thoughts in Lu's head. It was like reading a thriller novel with a nonsensical plot twist.
- Lu. I didn't mind her as a character. Some other reviewers found her unlikable, but there are plenty of unlikable people in the world so that doesn't bother me. What bothered me were the inconsistencies in her insights into others. Most of the time, she seemed to have no understanding of people's intentions, behaviors, thought processes, or other normal human things (like showing up to your shifts when your scheduled..) However, there were some moments, where she just seemed to get someone, what they were thinking and feeling. And as a reader, you knew she was correct in her "intuitions." But it was inconsistent to her character. It felt more like the author needed to give us some information, but didn't know how since it was a first person narrative. And, instead of using that framestory Lu, the one who had an understanding of how juvenile she was in this time of her life, she decided to use 26 year old Lu, who's quite clueless.
- The magical element was not well enough infused in the narrative to work for the author's purposes.
Never have I had such a tumultuous reading experience. I would go from loving to hating it in the scope of a chapter. And the last line made me angry. I don't want to say it read like a debut novel, because I've read some amazing debuts, but it read like it needed a few more rounds of editing.
Will I ever pick up another Rachel Lyon book? Maybe if I read reviews that the kinks of her writing style here was mended.
attoliseugenides's review against another edition
2.0
this is not an easily likable book. while it does pose an important and thought-provoking question, the journey that the readers are taken to doesn't exactly try to answer it. because it gets answered fairly early on, and i feel like much of the appeal of the book is stripped because of that.
certain stylistic choices also made me unable to relate, let alone, like, any of the characters, despite the intensity of their experiences. this doesn't make the characters not fascinating; in fact they are, they just fail to arouse sympathy.
certain stylistic choices also made me unable to relate, let alone, like, any of the characters, despite the intensity of their experiences. this doesn't make the characters not fascinating; in fact they are, they just fail to arouse sympathy.
terriep's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a surprise. Recommended by a friend, I had no idea what to expect and isn't that the fun of a new book/author? It appealed to me on several levels - the moral dilemma is intriguing (what would I do if.....?), the lonesome, loner main character was sad but intriguing, and the artistic backdrop and setting was interesting because of my own artistic endeavors.
"You know, I said, since the medium was invented, photography has been undervalued, thought of as a second-rate art form. People tend not to understand the technique involved. We can see the artistry in an excellent painting, can see it in the brushstrokes. In a photograph, the artist's touch is more invisible. Part of is is also that the nature of the photograph is to exist in multiples. The value of a painting or a sculpture is higher because there is just one painting, one sculpture in the world. Dealers can sell it for all this money because it's one-of-a-kind. Because a photograph can be reproduced again and again its value is inherently lower."
"When he (the professor) said, 'an accident is just a change of course', I got it. He meant the grace in making art is being alive to chance. 'When you make a mistake, make it again', he'd say. 'There are only happy accidents'". That is, until the accident that affects the rest of her life occurs......
Well written, smoothly flowing, well developed main characters, a recommended read - could be a good book club story.
"You know, I said, since the medium was invented, photography has been undervalued, thought of as a second-rate art form. People tend not to understand the technique involved. We can see the artistry in an excellent painting, can see it in the brushstrokes. In a photograph, the artist's touch is more invisible. Part of is is also that the nature of the photograph is to exist in multiples. The value of a painting or a sculpture is higher because there is just one painting, one sculpture in the world. Dealers can sell it for all this money because it's one-of-a-kind. Because a photograph can be reproduced again and again its value is inherently lower."
"When he (the professor) said, 'an accident is just a change of course', I got it. He meant the grace in making art is being alive to chance. 'When you make a mistake, make it again', he'd say. 'There are only happy accidents'". That is, until the accident that affects the rest of her life occurs......
Well written, smoothly flowing, well developed main characters, a recommended read - could be a good book club story.
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