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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the writing style of this memoir, it is very quick yet descriptive yet I finished this book feeling a little short-changed. I was looking for more insight into what it was like for her father, some closure perhaps. In the end, I suppose we only get as deep as Vicki, the author, is willing to go.
After surviving a traumatic childhood, Vicki Laveau-Harvie had been estranged from her parents for nearly 20 years when she returned to Canada due to her mother breaking a hip and needing to arrange care. Upon arriving, Laveau-Harvie and her sister are met with the devastating scene of their father having been isolated and starved by their very mentally unwell mother for years, and subsequently trying to ensure their mother never returns to the house.
One thing I’ve noticed about the Stella Prize is that they rarely get it wrong, and I really enjoyed this one.
The Erratics is an excellent memoir reflecting on a childhood and life living with a mentally unwell parent. I don’t believe Laveau-Harvie ever states this, but I understand that her mother was diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, characterised by an inflated sense of self-importance, a need for admiration, and a lack of care about the feelings of others.
It is written as an untangling of sorts, as Laveau-Harvie wades through memories, jumping around chronologically as she leads us off on different tangents, building a picture of how it could all come to this. It is a tale of childhood trauma but it is not a particularly harrowing one, as Laveau-Harvie states that she has gaps in her memory whereas her sister remembers everything acutely and painfully.
I borrowed this from the library ages ago and couldn’t really get into it at the time, so I’m really glad I decided to give it another shot.
One thing I’ve noticed about the Stella Prize is that they rarely get it wrong, and I really enjoyed this one.
The Erratics is an excellent memoir reflecting on a childhood and life living with a mentally unwell parent. I don’t believe Laveau-Harvie ever states this, but I understand that her mother was diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, characterised by an inflated sense of self-importance, a need for admiration, and a lack of care about the feelings of others.
It is written as an untangling of sorts, as Laveau-Harvie wades through memories, jumping around chronologically as she leads us off on different tangents, building a picture of how it could all come to this. It is a tale of childhood trauma but it is not a particularly harrowing one, as Laveau-Harvie states that she has gaps in her memory whereas her sister remembers everything acutely and painfully.
I borrowed this from the library ages ago and couldn’t really get into it at the time, so I’m really glad I decided to give it another shot.
It's always so hard reviewing people's memoirs. How can I put a rating on what somebody has personally experienced?
My 2.5 star rating is related to the fact that the book wasn't what i anticipated. I hoped for more about Vickis life growing up. And the book jumped around quite a lot. Im so glad she told her story, it just wasn't what I expected.
My 2.5 star rating is related to the fact that the book wasn't what i anticipated. I hoped for more about Vickis life growing up. And the book jumped around quite a lot. Im so glad she told her story, it just wasn't what I expected.
This felt like two books duking it out over which one would make the final cut. One of the books recognizes that its story is deeply traumatic. The other book wants to be flippant and pretend that everyone came through unscathed. I did get a kick out of her father not talking to her on Skype because she was on television and only crazy people talk to their televisions.
I was really looking forward to this book as I was interested in the themes.
I just found the writing a little confusing. It’s a bit back and forth in time and rather gappy, but the pop culture references were confusing and I was wanting more story - tell me more about how your mum was horrible to you.
I don’t know if I liked the author as a sister - a little bit of ‘everyone else has their issues’.
Anyway, it was a bookclub book and I’m looking forward to chatting about it.
I just found the writing a little confusing. It’s a bit back and forth in time and rather gappy, but the pop culture references were confusing and I was wanting more story - tell me more about how your mum was horrible to you.
I don’t know if I liked the author as a sister - a little bit of ‘everyone else has their issues’.
Anyway, it was a bookclub book and I’m looking forward to chatting about it.
This year’s #stellaprize winner is a very strange but beautifully (if unusually) written memoir of two sisters dealing with the fall out of ageing parents. Although in this case the mother is bats*$t crazy and at serious risk of killing her dominated husband or send them both broke chasing internet scams.
Vicki Laveau-Harvie's writing is beautiful and the discombobulating feel of the book with its jumps back and forth in time and place suited the discomfiting subject matter on hand, but I was largely underwhelmed by this book – Laveau-Harvie's position as an unreliable narrator due to the erasure of her memories as a result of trauma was such an interesting framework through which to explore familial angst but it didn't live up to its initial promise.
It just wasn’t what I expected. It was fine. Not much of a story.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
dark
tense