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readingweird's review against another edition
5.0
It took me four months to read this book. Four months of my reading pattern mimicking the spiraling interior voice of maybe my favorite narrator of all time: from frenzy to fatigue and back again. I thought I was done with the maximalist novel, thought I’d seen all there was to see, and was skeptical that the form had anything left to offer me. Ellman did the impossible work of reclaiming the maximalist form for the sort of reader who’s never been invited inside of it before: the homemaker, the domestic woman, the housewife, the mother. It’s not just about her, it’s FOR her. But the novel’s strength lies in the realization that its preoccupations should be ours, should be yours, and we would do well to take note of what this narrator obsessively worries over: shootings, domestic violence, the mass murder of baby chicks, climate change, Laura Ingalls Wilder. The near impossibility of protecting precious things. To my mind Ellman has accomplished nothing short of putting an end to dismissively labeling fiction about domesticity “women’s fiction.” I loved it.
joeduncan's review against another edition
5.0
Big big fan of this one. Formally, it's monumental, but it's successful beyond that. I spent the better part of a year reading it, but largely due to the fact that this book rewards a slow pace. It's expressive and intimate and trickles over 1000 pages through the obscure details, memories and fears of a midwestern baker. Gonna be a favorite of the year.
skrehely's review against another edition
5.0
“the fact that most people live and die where they were born, or they leave home and live somewhere else for decades but come back to pass away, like migrating birds”
kevin_barney's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
smallest_effigy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-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
4.0
suvata's review against another edition
3.0
• Reading Envy Podcast Readalong for June 2020
Reading this book was like being the head of a neurotic for 1,000 pages. This never-ceasing stream of consciousness actually made me anxious at times (bring on the Xanax). Yet, there was something compelling about the writing that made me want to keep reading. I do a lot of practice to control my “monkey mind“. This book was 30+ hours“ of pure, unadulterated “monkey mind”. A veritable encyclopedia of the first part of the 21st Century in America — Very unique and hard to rate.
Reading this book was like being the head of a neurotic for 1,000 pages. This never-ceasing stream of consciousness actually made me anxious at times (bring on the Xanax). Yet, there was something compelling about the writing that made me want to keep reading. I do a lot of practice to control my “monkey mind“. This book was 30+ hours“ of pure, unadulterated “monkey mind”. A veritable encyclopedia of the first part of the 21st Century in America — Very unique and hard to rate.
jessie_lewis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
timothypeacock's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Ducks, Newbury port is an interesting read that is chaotic at times, but overall gives an overall charm to the reader. It is written in an unorthodox way, in that there is a lack of pronunciation, with a stream of consciousness thought announced by the protagonist. As a reader, it can be challenging to read at first given the way it is written, but once the reader is able to free themself from the constraints of prose written form, you get a real sense of the modern chaotic world that we live in.
printemps_is's review against another edition
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