Reviews

What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez

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sam_johnson510's review

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I enjoyed reading this book. As the blurb says, the book is about different conversations the narrator has with other people, discussions about what is happening in their lives. Prominent among them is her friend who's terminally ill. All these encounters have life/meaning of life as a common theme among them. They are skewed mostly towards the existential aspect of life. And most of the ideas resonated with me! It's quite rare (at least for me) to find a book that I agree with on most counts. I'd give five stars just for that.

There's also an imagined conversation she has with a cat where the cat describes its life so far and what it went through. Although I am not a pet-person, I found myself feeling bad for what the cat had to go through. It isn't tragic, yet it's heartbreaking in some way. That part of the book was also a highlight for me.

The prose itself flows seamlessly. It felt very smooth in terms of how it reads, and that made it all the more enjoyable to read this book :)

lisa_kissane's review against another edition

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4.0

A rather maudlin but powerful observation of human connections with enough feminist themes to keep my interest. Although there wasn't much of a plot to begin with I found it enthralling all the same - rather than a timeline or a recount of tangible events, this book starts with a series of encounters dissected and reflected upon by the narrator. It could almost be a work of non-fiction which is to say the writing is credibly authentic.

The first part reads like a stream of consciousness and took some time to adapt to; it is a running commentary of the narrator's thoughts as she comes to the main event. After this, the writing takes on a more typical feel and becomes more of the story one would expect. All this together makes for a unique and interesting read.

I was also impressed with the thought-provoking sub-plot of humanity's self-inflicted demise. The book as a whole feels so much bigger than its 210 pages, I've certainly come away from it with many questions and reflections, but in the best way.

Blog review: http://lisaannkissane.com/book-review-what-are-you-going-through-by-sigrid-nunez/

inniss's review

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2.0

This just wasn’t my thing. It has a sort of dry sardonic humour which is ok but the first half is sort of pithy anecdotes and then literally half way through you get to the main storyline. I kind of liked some is the vignettes and thought this was the meat of the book—like transitory exchanges with other people pointing to the depth and banality of the human experience. But half way through she introduced what seemed to be the main story of the book....which left 100 pages to address some deeper questions about life and death. I felt like the author got bored with the stories but by the time she hit the stride of the book i had kind of checked out.

nightsdecay's review against another edition

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3.0

I felt that this book could've been a bit shorter. There are a lot of tangents, and at times it felt like I was listening to an older relative tell a story with no clear point.

cherry_blossom_6's review

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4.0

I had to give it a 4. I was utterly enjoying this book. Book about life, about death, about love, about friendship and with a splash of phylosophy... It was really my cup of tea. But that ending though. That was a mess. Abrupt. Sudden. Unfulfilling. It really ruined the whole experience to me. I need it to end somehow. I need it complete.