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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like the idea of it more than I liked reading it. I wasn't a big fan of the style, but I don't read a lot of poetry so it's mostly just a case of this book not being for me.
One of my favourite things about the book is that the two boys speak with one voice.
I was expecting to /feel/ more when reading this book, so I was disappointed when I hardly felt anything. But maybe that's the point: feeling numb in the wake of loss?
Glad I read it, but, this just wasn't really what I was looking for.
**
EDIT: Soooo I googled Ted Hughes and uhhh yeahhh I was missing so much context when I read this book.
One of my favourite things about the book is that the two boys speak with one voice.
I was expecting to /feel/ more when reading this book, so I was disappointed when I hardly felt anything. But maybe that's the point: feeling numb in the wake of loss?
Glad I read it, but, this just wasn't really what I was looking for.
**
EDIT: Soooo I googled Ted Hughes and uhhh yeahhh I was missing so much context when I read this book.
i can’t say i loved this book and it would be a 3* (i think because i have never really experienced grief) but it gets 4 because of how beautiful written and well crafted it is.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Delightful book.
So many moments that made me pause. Then reread the page and reflect.
Perfectly structured to read on a day savouring cappuccinos and lemon tart in cafes with dappled sunlight through stained glass windows.
So many moments that made me pause. Then reread the page and reflect.
Perfectly structured to read on a day savouring cappuccinos and lemon tart in cafes with dappled sunlight through stained glass windows.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
„Moving on, as a concept, is for stupid people, because any sensible person knows grief is a long-term project. I refuse to rush. The pain that is thrust upon us let no man slow or speed or fix.“
Who would have thought a random book I‘d start reading in a shitty London cafe over the worst banana bread of my life would touch me so deeply. Porter presents grief as the confusing, ever changing but never stopping thing that it is. A beautiful examination of family, death and the difficulties of staying. Sometimes a little heavy on the artsyness but I barley noticed through all the tears I cried. An extraordinary read.
Who would have thought a random book I‘d start reading in a shitty London cafe over the worst banana bread of my life would touch me so deeply. Porter presents grief as the confusing, ever changing but never stopping thing that it is. A beautiful examination of family, death and the difficulties of staying. Sometimes a little heavy on the artsyness but I barley noticed through all the tears I cried. An extraordinary read.
2025 - The 52 Book Club Challenge
Prompt 17: Told in verse
“She’ll be way back, before you. She’ll be in the golden days of her childhood. Ghosts do not haunt, they regress. Just as when you need to go to sleep you think of trees or lawns, you are taking instant symbolic refuge in a ready-made iconography of early safety and satisfaction. That exact place is where ghosts go.”
Prompt 17: Told in verse
“She’ll be way back, before you. She’ll be in the golden days of her childhood. Ghosts do not haunt, they regress. Just as when you need to go to sleep you think of trees or lawns, you are taking instant symbolic refuge in a ready-made iconography of early safety and satisfaction. That exact place is where ghosts go.”
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated