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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Sum it up in a sentence (or two): Heidi Julavits chronicles two years of her life in diary form, then "folds" the entries into this book.
First thoughts: Solid concept, not a fan of the execution.
Expand on that: I went between understanding and relating to various entries and being put off by her writing style and some of the content. Some parts felt too self-aware and that knocked me out of the narrative. I think I had high hopes for this book based on other reviews and my own personal relationship to journaling, so I was disappointed that I couldn't relate and/or didn't care about the story.
Favorite quotes:
"At a certain point, it seems more polite to just become the person people assume you to be." -p98
"There's nothing she hasn't thought of, and thought of and thought of, poor woman." -p112
"I wanted to escape my head because my head is so stupid these days. I wanted to be inside someone else's head." -p201
Final thoughts: Okay, so this book wasn't for me, or at least not for the person I am now. Lots of things matched up: writer, Rome, diary-lover, internal processor, ... but I felt out of sync with Julavits. Am I too young? Just not in the same head space? Who knows. I curious to hear about other readers' experiences.
First thoughts: Solid concept, not a fan of the execution.
Expand on that: I went between understanding and relating to various entries and being put off by her writing style and some of the content. Some parts felt too self-aware and that knocked me out of the narrative. I think I had high hopes for this book based on other reviews and my own personal relationship to journaling, so I was disappointed that I couldn't relate and/or didn't care about the story.
Favorite quotes:
"At a certain point, it seems more polite to just become the person people assume you to be." -p98
"There's nothing she hasn't thought of, and thought of and thought of, poor woman." -p112
"I wanted to escape my head because my head is so stupid these days. I wanted to be inside someone else's head." -p201
Final thoughts: Okay, so this book wasn't for me, or at least not for the person I am now. Lots of things matched up: writer, Rome, diary-lover, internal processor, ... but I felt out of sync with Julavits. Am I too young? Just not in the same head space? Who knows. I curious to hear about other readers' experiences.
The author reminded me of a very brittle woman I used to be friends with, a person who was entirely self-absorbed and important, and who used concepts of anxiety to legitimize her poor treatment of others. Julavits's writing is lovely, but the person she writes about--herself--seems so very un-lovely that it was difficult to appreciate anything about the book.
I thought I was going to really adore this book as I am a great fan of journaling, especially by great writers. This writer's journal however, seemed a bit meandering and lacked substance. I kept expecting something dramatic to happen - either an incident, a revelation or an emotional turning point. One review mentioned that the writer found her journal from a younger period, so I was expecting perhaps "Mortified" like moments, instead it seemed like Caucasian middle age privileged angst.
I would read this diary forever, just a few entries, before bed. Heidi Julavits seems to make perfect company.
The Folded Clock by Heidi Julavits is self-absorbed and absorbing, reflective, boring to some but not to me, diary of a young woman's thoughts with each date starting "Today I..." and continuing with an anecdote or meditation about her life, i.e. I walked by here when I was on my way to have an affair with the man who became my second husband, or I swam for hours on the last day of our Maine vacation in t he little town where I have summered most of my life, or I went to see my therapist who did not answer the door or I fought with my husband when we were in Berlin. and she continues to muse on these beginnings for a few pages before we willy nilly move on to another date, not necessarily chronological. As a writer, and one not given to this kind of introspection, I found her entries fascinating. I listened to the book on CD and my husband did not share my enthusiasm even though she's funny at times and off the wall with her neuroses. It was a voyeurish excursion but the worries and obsessions about aging and death and friendship which concern her are shared by many women and I was sorry to have the book end. I'd buy another installment.
This is a collection of stuff from Heidi Julavits' diary. The most interesting writings here, to me, are those that either deal with her writing on sexuality and sex, or that which deal with everyday-meets-bizarre stuff.
I wasn't expecting anything before reading this, yet while reading, I seldom chuckled (a good thing, really), sometimes showed others quotes and mostly, I quickly read through the entries, that basically weren't for me. The best I can say about those entries, is that they weren't attention seeking. I can't remember much of this collection, but was left with an OK feeling and a little sense of needing Montaigne afterwards.
I wasn't expecting anything before reading this, yet while reading, I seldom chuckled (a good thing, really), sometimes showed others quotes and mostly, I quickly read through the entries, that basically weren't for me. The best I can say about those entries, is that they weren't attention seeking. I can't remember much of this collection, but was left with an OK feeling and a little sense of needing Montaigne afterwards.
I'm honestly at about 3.5 stars for this one. Reading this book every night was like having coffee with your smartest girlfriend. I loved that about it. Its weaknesses are mostly inherent to the diary format. Writing a daily essay that connects to something you did that day is somewhat limiting, though Julavits certainly makes the most of it. I'm sure it's more interesting than a memoir approach to documenting a year in her life.
On the other hand, with so many small looks into one moment or conversation or experience in a day, the larger strokes of life get left behind a bit. And the out-of-order presentation, with Julavits being in New York in winter, then Maine in Summer, then Italy in Fall, is interesting but I'm not sure it works better than it would have chronologically. It never gets past the gimmick phase into something more notable.
Still. I like Julavits, and as a blogger I see great value in taking time to write about something that happens in your life and framing it in a readable way. Many of her stories are laugh-out-loud funny, many are deeply resonant, many stop just short and leave you wanting more. She's a great writer, she's rarely boring, and she's rarely expected. Some of the highest compliments I can give.
On the other hand, with so many small looks into one moment or conversation or experience in a day, the larger strokes of life get left behind a bit. And the out-of-order presentation, with Julavits being in New York in winter, then Maine in Summer, then Italy in Fall, is interesting but I'm not sure it works better than it would have chronologically. It never gets past the gimmick phase into something more notable.
Still. I like Julavits, and as a blogger I see great value in taking time to write about something that happens in your life and framing it in a readable way. Many of her stories are laugh-out-loud funny, many are deeply resonant, many stop just short and leave you wanting more. She's a great writer, she's rarely boring, and she's rarely expected. Some of the highest compliments I can give.