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xystophi's review against another edition
This is not my type of novel. Although I get the anger and angst of the US, the relentless neurosis gets tedious. No way I'm reading 1000 pages of the US dystopia. I have seen enough.
mimosaeyes's review against another edition
5.0
I've gone completely mental, but this 1000-page, stream-of-consciousness, largely-single-sentence whopper... gets 5 stars from me. I'm reeling. I'm angry. I'm ecstatic. I really didn't think I'd genuinely enjoy this book.
The narrator is a housewife living in Ohio, making pies and looking after her four children and endlessly fretting, fretting, fretting over the state of America and the world. Of particular concern to her: gun violence, the animal world (as opposed to human "civilisation"), rape culture, and the callousness/irresponsibility of the capitalist complex. There are interludes of regular prose, following the story of a lioness and her cubs. Which sounds incongruous. But the whole thing comes together magnificently, and between that macro-structure and the talent and effort it must take to write in such an accretionary style... ahhh. A most satisfying read.
The narrator is a housewife living in Ohio, making pies and looking after her four children and endlessly fretting, fretting, fretting over the state of America and the world. Of particular concern to her: gun violence, the animal world (as opposed to human "civilisation"), rape culture, and the callousness/irresponsibility of the capitalist complex. There are interludes of regular prose, following the story of a lioness and her cubs. Which sounds incongruous. But the whole thing comes together magnificently, and between that macro-structure and the talent and effort it must take to write in such an accretionary style... ahhh. A most satisfying read.
samxxtha's review
4.0
I've been chipping away at this bad boy forever- essentially all one sentence, train of thought style, and a fun time
sadi9954's review against another edition
5.0
Is the author a genius or have we been trolled?
Either way, I enjoyed this 1000 page book with zero punctuation.
I am very happy to put this book away and never look at it again.
Either way, I enjoyed this 1000 page book with zero punctuation.
I am very happy to put this book away and never look at it again.
maureenmcc's review against another edition
4.0
When I checked out this ebook, I did not realize that it was 1,000 pages long, most of which consisted of a single, run-on sentence. At first I was intimidated, distracted and somewhat overwhelmed by the length and structure of the book. But I decided to stick with it, and ended up really enjoying its wit, humor, insights, critiques of our current culture, and all too relatable anxieties about life, death, motherhood, and the sometimes unfathomable cruelty of our world. It's subtly and masterfully put together; you'll be tempted to read it quickly but you need to pay attention to really put all the pieces together.
timbo001's review
4.0
Taking the form of an extended internal monologue in the mind of an Ohio woman, and interspersed with the adventures of a female mountain lion searching for her lost cubs, *Ducks, Newburyport* is one of the more challenging work of fiction I have encountered in some time.
olivianw's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Truly magnificent! I am in awe of the author, I can’t imagine how she kept track of each strand, tying them together beautifully in the end.
The way this was written made what could have been a bit of a slog for me an absolute pleasure to read. Each tangent mimicking my own mind, so I found that I could get swept alway with the narrator without much effort on my part.
As with all of the very few “long” books I’ve got through, I’ll miss this book now that I’ve finished it!
The way this was written made what could have been a bit of a slog for me an absolute pleasure to read. Each tangent mimicking my own mind, so I found that I could get swept alway with the narrator without much effort on my part.
As with all of the very few “long” books I’ve got through, I’ll miss this book now that I’ve finished it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Gun violence, Violence, and Mass/school shootings
catrobindawg's review against another edition
I just couldn't get into the style it is written in. I have ADHD and it's too much like the constant jargon going through my head that it was hard to differentiate between the book and my own brain
bobwoco's review against another edition
5.0
i wasn't sure how i was going to feel about this one, but overall very cathartic and moving, all the characters end up being well rounded and sketched and i care about them all, it's extremely tense at the end. i only wish the narrator cared about politics more, all those segments grated on me