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jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
The main character in A Feather on the Breath of God is struggling to find her cultural identity. Her parents are a Chinese father who grew up in Panama and a German mother. An honest & insightful novel about a girl trying to find out who she is.
gabefish's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed Nunez's writing style and how they were really such a peep into a person's thinking. A child of immigrants of very different backgrounds growing up in 50s/60s New York. It doesn't shy away from how this is just someone's thoughts and how unreliable it can be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, War, and Sexual assault
hunterandrew's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A story about identity and immigration and the ways in which we are seen and looked right through. I left this book wanting more detail, more story, more, well, emotion, but it was still a good book.
eviehunter's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up :)
A very beautifully written book, I felt grateful to be able to follow Sigrid Nunez’s deeply personal story.
A very beautifully written book, I felt grateful to be able to follow Sigrid Nunez’s deeply personal story.
ewaikah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
samstillreading's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve seen many glowing reviews over the last few years for Sigrid Nunez’ writing, but I’ve never gotten around to reading her work. I wanted to try one of her novels that wasn’t The Friend (I’m not a dog person), so I picked up A Feather on the Breath of God which is about immigrant parents and growing up different. It’s a fantastically written story and I look forward to reading more of her work.
The first-person narrator of the story is never named, but it’s the story of her parents, growing up overseas and coming to America, which doesn’t turn out to be the dream life that they expected. The first part is the story of her father, who is Chinese but was born in Panama. The narrator is astonished when she hears her father speak in Chinese as it’s not something she’s ever contemplated. She and her sisters want to know more about what is Chinese, but her father brushes them off. Yet in their eyes, he is definitely different to other fathers, working long hours and speaking broken English. The second part moves on to their mother, who is from Germany and proud of it. She’s not happy with life in the housing projects (or her life in general) and sometimes takes it out on her children (or her husband). In comparison to the girls’ father, she is strong and outspoken while he is meek and quiet. The third part is about the narrator’s relatively short-lived time learning ballet. Although she is not a good dancer, in ballet she finds discipline and also freedom from her family as well as her first taste of independence. The last part is about the narrator as an adult, falling in love with one of her Russian students she teaches English to. To others, Vadim appears as a bad man, best avoided. To her, he represents something familiar, like her parents but he is accessible in ways that her parents never were.
Nunez writes beautifully. Although this isn’t a long novel, it’s elegantly crafted with each sentence carefully worded. As a reader, I wanted to savour every word and work out its place in the overall picture. It’s wistful at times, reminiscing on childhood and bitter in others as the narrator reflects on missed opportunities with her parents and others. At times, it brings make the warmth of childhood memories and in her relationship with Vadim, brings about feelings of teenage rebellion. It’s also a story of not knowing where to fit in – she doesn’t fit in with the Chinese kids at school, nor the rich. (Even Vadim, who arguably knows her best, doesn’t believe she is part Chinese at first.) It’s a story too of childhood colouring future choices, such as the narrator’s choice not to marry after her parents’ volatile marriage. It’s hard to believe this was Nunez’s debut work, but I’m grateful that I have much more of her work to enjoy.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The first-person narrator of the story is never named, but it’s the story of her parents, growing up overseas and coming to America, which doesn’t turn out to be the dream life that they expected. The first part is the story of her father, who is Chinese but was born in Panama. The narrator is astonished when she hears her father speak in Chinese as it’s not something she’s ever contemplated. She and her sisters want to know more about what is Chinese, but her father brushes them off. Yet in their eyes, he is definitely different to other fathers, working long hours and speaking broken English. The second part moves on to their mother, who is from Germany and proud of it. She’s not happy with life in the housing projects (or her life in general) and sometimes takes it out on her children (or her husband). In comparison to the girls’ father, she is strong and outspoken while he is meek and quiet. The third part is about the narrator’s relatively short-lived time learning ballet. Although she is not a good dancer, in ballet she finds discipline and also freedom from her family as well as her first taste of independence. The last part is about the narrator as an adult, falling in love with one of her Russian students she teaches English to. To others, Vadim appears as a bad man, best avoided. To her, he represents something familiar, like her parents but he is accessible in ways that her parents never were.
Nunez writes beautifully. Although this isn’t a long novel, it’s elegantly crafted with each sentence carefully worded. As a reader, I wanted to savour every word and work out its place in the overall picture. It’s wistful at times, reminiscing on childhood and bitter in others as the narrator reflects on missed opportunities with her parents and others. At times, it brings make the warmth of childhood memories and in her relationship with Vadim, brings about feelings of teenage rebellion. It’s also a story of not knowing where to fit in – she doesn’t fit in with the Chinese kids at school, nor the rich. (Even Vadim, who arguably knows her best, doesn’t believe she is part Chinese at first.) It’s a story too of childhood colouring future choices, such as the narrator’s choice not to marry after her parents’ volatile marriage. It’s hard to believe this was Nunez’s debut work, but I’m grateful that I have much more of her work to enjoy.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
allisondonth's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
chaoticbibliophile's review against another edition
medium-paced
Damn it, even not at her most accomplished Sigrid Nunez is bloody brilliant, it seems.