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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is pandemic literature done right. No vagueness, no beating around the bush. A 4/5 for my first read by Nunez; however, this won't be my last. I love the writing style and found it very easy to read and relate to as a writer.
This was my first book by Sigrid Nunez and while I really enjoyed her writing style I’m not quite sure what to make of the story.
The Vulnerables was billed as a book about modern life and connection. What the blurb didn’t hint at was this was a novel set during the early days of the pandemic in America.
In it an older female author reflects on a time during lockdown when she agrees to housesit her friend’s apartment and look after her beloved parrot Eureka after the original sitter a young man in college bails. During this time in lockdown she grows to love Eureka and falls into a rhythm taking long walks and living simply. Then the original sitter inexplicably returns and the narrator, who can’t return to her own apartment as she has allowed a frontline doctor to stay there, must learn to cohabitate with the young man.
This is a rambling, meandering kind of book. Sometimes it felt like a novel, sometimes it felt like an essay. Sometimes you think this is Nunez speaking her thoughts out loud and reflecting autobiographically. Sometimes you think she has spliced two books into one with one chapter about the pandemic times suddenly becoming a chapter talking about various authors and their writing.
I’m not sure if this is Nunez’s standard approach to her work but for me I just spent too much time wondering what the hell was happening and where the plot was heading.
Yet despite this confusion I could absolutely tell that Nunez is a master at her writing craft. There is humour and pathos. There was also the sense that the early days of lockdown worldwide were ones of weirdness and sadness and introspection. The language flows beautifully even if the plot doesn't.
Thank you to @hachetteaus for my #gifted copy.
The Vulnerables was billed as a book about modern life and connection. What the blurb didn’t hint at was this was a novel set during the early days of the pandemic in America.
In it an older female author reflects on a time during lockdown when she agrees to housesit her friend’s apartment and look after her beloved parrot Eureka after the original sitter a young man in college bails. During this time in lockdown she grows to love Eureka and falls into a rhythm taking long walks and living simply. Then the original sitter inexplicably returns and the narrator, who can’t return to her own apartment as she has allowed a frontline doctor to stay there, must learn to cohabitate with the young man.
This is a rambling, meandering kind of book. Sometimes it felt like a novel, sometimes it felt like an essay. Sometimes you think this is Nunez speaking her thoughts out loud and reflecting autobiographically. Sometimes you think she has spliced two books into one with one chapter about the pandemic times suddenly becoming a chapter talking about various authors and their writing.
I’m not sure if this is Nunez’s standard approach to her work but for me I just spent too much time wondering what the hell was happening and where the plot was heading.
Yet despite this confusion I could absolutely tell that Nunez is a master at her writing craft. There is humour and pathos. There was also the sense that the early days of lockdown worldwide were ones of weirdness and sadness and introspection. The language flows beautifully even if the plot doesn't.
Thank you to @hachetteaus for my #gifted copy.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-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:
Yes
