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jennikreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Abandonment, Grief, Infidelity, and Child death
librarywonders's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
It's the tail-end of summer. A 30-something woman leaves her husband and immediate family to go somewhere, anywhere, in an attempt to get away from her life and herself. She leaves with more or less nothing on her person, very little money, and no clear plan. She ends up in a beach town just as everything's about to close down for the fall. As we follow her in the following months she becomes someone who gets by mostly by the grace of other people she happens to encounter.
We soon learn that she's had a miscarriage not long before the start of the narrative, and is trying to cope with this loss. When we meet her she is still telling herself that none of her negative reactions are "about that". But she's filled up with negative thoughts, not least about herself, and she has decided, it seems, a long time ago that she is not worthy of most good things in life, that she is lacking somehow, compared to everyone around her.
This novel is not plot-driven - I think what it's attempting, in some parts at least, is more so an exploration of loss and grief and mourning; the process of letting yourself mourn, confronting the loss and its impact on you, and beginning the journey of recovery. However, there is, I feel, still a clear enough narrative that can be followed throughout the book, with aspects of the woman's story being revealed to us slowly, in bits and pieces throughout the entirety of the novel.
The very short passages/micro chapters that the book is made up of makes for a quick read. And the narrative moves in a linear fashion, so even though it might feel fragmented because of the slightly detached writing style and those short passages it is very easy to follow the story line.
Overall this was and enjoyable and easy enough read, and this being a debut novel I look forward to seeing what Sara Freeman will put out in the future.
Thank you to to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review!
We soon learn that she's had a miscarriage not long before the start of the narrative, and is trying to cope with this loss. When we meet her she is still telling herself that none of her negative reactions are "about that". But she's filled up with negative thoughts, not least about herself, and she has decided, it seems, a long time ago that she is not worthy of most good things in life, that she is lacking somehow, compared to everyone around her.
This novel is not plot-driven - I think what it's attempting, in some parts at least, is more so an exploration of loss and grief and mourning; the process of letting yourself mourn, confronting the loss and its impact on you, and beginning the journey of recovery. However, there is, I feel, still a clear enough narrative that can be followed throughout the book, with aspects of the woman's story being revealed to us slowly, in bits and pieces throughout the entirety of the novel.
The very short passages/micro chapters that the book is made up of makes for a quick read. And the narrative moves in a linear fashion, so even though it might feel fragmented because of the slightly detached writing style and those short passages it is very easy to follow the story line.
Overall this was and enjoyable and easy enough read, and this being a debut novel I look forward to seeing what Sara Freeman will put out in the future.
Thank you to to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
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