You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Started off good and interesting, but then got bored and speed read through last 30%.
Jente Posthuma goes right for the heart and right for the stark truth in this piece of memoir-like fiction. She does not back away from any topic--but especially the ones we find ourselves not always wanting to discuss for the sake of decorum. Suicide. Death. Abandonment. The Holocaust. Idiosyncrasies and taboos. Reality television. A sweater-collecting addiction.
In the wake of her twin brother's suicide, our narrator provides a glimpse into an inner life that feels like reading a session of therapy. It is plainly stated, but behind each vignette--each phrase--lies enough capacity to truly silence readers and keep us thinking long after we've put the book down.
From the contours of their intricate relationship as twins--the too much and too little of it all--to their family dynamics to the relationships and internal dialogue Posthuma explores in the narrator’s life, this book made me look and made me think. Her story does a great job at cataloguing life with the people--her brother in this case--that we want to help but cannot alone; the people we want to save but cannot; the broken but treasured stories we cling to that we must also remember and live with every day.
It was an unusual book, by all means, but one that I was able to breeze through and feel greatly impacted by nonetheless.
In the wake of her twin brother's suicide, our narrator provides a glimpse into an inner life that feels like reading a session of therapy. It is plainly stated, but behind each vignette--each phrase--lies enough capacity to truly silence readers and keep us thinking long after we've put the book down.
From the contours of their intricate relationship as twins--the too much and too little of it all--to their family dynamics to the relationships and internal dialogue Posthuma explores in the narrator’s life, this book made me look and made me think. Her story does a great job at cataloguing life with the people--her brother in this case--that we want to help but cannot alone; the people we want to save but cannot; the broken but treasured stories we cling to that we must also remember and live with every day.
It was an unusual book, by all means, but one that I was able to breeze through and feel greatly impacted by nonetheless.
I would have liked this one more if I had read it before “In Defence of the Act”. Two sisters struggling with their siblings suicide, however this one felt a bit flat and lacking the depth of IDOTA.
This hit hard for me as I can directly relate to the complex griefs of surviving sibling suicide and the transitions from childhood sibling codependence to adult disconnections (although not as a twin, and with my sibling roles having quite different dynamics). I'm not sure if I would have wanted to read this at any other time and, honestly, I'm not entirely sure if this is a five star book for me. But it is very, very real and quite beautiful in its depth and simplicity.
'what is worse? To have briefly been the tallest building in the world or never to have been the tallest because the building next to you was always slightly taller.'
'what is worse? To have briefly been the tallest building in the world or never to have been the tallest because the building next to you was always slightly taller.'