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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Dropped at 24%. Won't pick it up again
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
Publication date: 25 January 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Three strangers are thrown together in one Manhattan apartment: a solitary writer; a Gen Z college drop-out; and a spirited parrot named Eureka.
A warning to start with, as I know this can be a trigger to many: this novel takes place during the early period of the Covid pandemic.
I greatly enjoyed the writing but this really felt like a book of two halves: the story of these two strangers forced into cohabitation by the lockdown, and the meandering thoughts of the narrator about books, writers and writing.
I wish Nunez had given us more of both aspects of The Vulnerables in two separate books. I wanted to see more of the relationship between those two people, to see it develop, become more fleshed-out and experience more of their interactions.
I absolutely loved the discourse around writers and the impact of their words and ideas, but these felt so strongly like Nunez's own thoughts that I would much prefer to explore those themes and topics in more depth in a collection of essays by the author. I would read this in a heartbeat.
Publication date: 25 January 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Three strangers are thrown together in one Manhattan apartment: a solitary writer; a Gen Z college drop-out; and a spirited parrot named Eureka.
A warning to start with, as I know this can be a trigger to many: this novel takes place during the early period of the Covid pandemic.
I greatly enjoyed the writing but this really felt like a book of two halves: the story of these two strangers forced into cohabitation by the lockdown, and the meandering thoughts of the narrator about books, writers and writing.
I wish Nunez had given us more of both aspects of The Vulnerables in two separate books. I wanted to see more of the relationship between those two people, to see it develop, become more fleshed-out and experience more of their interactions.
I absolutely loved the discourse around writers and the impact of their words and ideas, but these felt so strongly like Nunez's own thoughts that I would much prefer to explore those themes and topics in more depth in a collection of essays by the author. I would read this in a heartbeat.
funny
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:
Complicated
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love Nunez's writing, and, since this book is largely about writing, I love it even more.
The main character finds herself living in the apartment of a friend of a friend during the pandemic shutdown, caring for the parrot whose people are stuck on the other side of the country because of the pandemic and late-stage pregnancy. Her own apartment is occupied by a doctor who was made to leave a building where the tenants felt threatened by her germs presence.
But then the college-aged man who had originally been bird-sitting returns, the three shelter together. Irritation and grace ensue.
Throughout it all, the main character (a writer) muses about writing and writers.
The main character finds herself living in the apartment of a friend of a friend during the pandemic shutdown, caring for the parrot whose people are stuck on the other side of the country because of the pandemic and late-stage pregnancy. Her own apartment is occupied by a doctor who was made to leave a building where the tenants felt threatened by her germs presence.
But then the college-aged man who had originally been bird-sitting returns, the three shelter together. Irritation and grace ensue.
Throughout it all, the main character (a writer) muses about writing and writers.