Reviews

Defenestrate by Renée Branum

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3.5 stars
I picked this up because of my strange adoration for the title. I did really enjoy it, I think I was just hoping for something a bit quirkier. But, instead I was provided with a somber, heavy novel compromised of reminiscences. I loved the poignancy and sadness of the novel, and the writing was beautiful and eloquent. I just think there was a bit too much distance between me and the characters.

rebekahjenkins's review

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5.0

Gorgeous. Beautiful. Made me smarter. A+ debut.

I do need to add a content warning for substance abuse and suicidal ideation. I am very depressed and it was easy for me to get through though I struggle with the ideation a lot, but that’s my own condition and my own bias. The book talks about suicide and mental health in a very plain matter of fact way. Dictionary meets The Bell Jar.

isa_reader's review

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

gbatts's review against another edition

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3.0

DNF at 56%.

I liked it as an allegory for things we inherit from our families, be it genetic or social. But the ideas didn’t really seem to be developing anywhere. So when my library eBook corrupted at 56%, I couldn’t be bothered fixing the issue to finish the book.

joedav's review

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reflective sad 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? Yes

2.25

booksaremypeople's review

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5.0

This is an amazingly unique novel that I zipped through and it’s really unlike any book I’ve read. The word Defenestrate, is a fantastic word and means to throw (As in someone) out a window. And the book leans on this as the theme, which sounds dark and, it’s safe to say this is not a light read, but it is funny in many places. Dark comedy is where I’d place this one. So there’s a superstition in Marta’s family specifically about falling because it’s happened so many times throughout the history of her family. People have leaned on railings that didn’t hold them, people have fallen off roofs while cleaning gutters, They can trace the first fall to their great great grandfather in Prague when he, a stone mason fell to the cobblestone below. Prague, as Marta explains was famous for throwing men out of windows and then we get a brief history of this. Marta is consumed by her family legacy. She doesn’t think of it so much as a curse than as something almost enviable, like when will it be her turn to experience the fall. It does affect other family members differently, some won’t stay above the second floor, etc. After a fight with their religious mother, Marta and her twin brother, Nick decide to move to Prague, where all this falling first started. And lo and behold, Nick experiences a fall from the balcony, which Marta is trying to parse out whether or not it was an accident or purposeful. The novel is broken down into very tiny chapters, each with their own heading. The writing is SO exquisitely sharp in this novel, it reminded me of a Maggie Nelson book, who often writes nonfiction about a specific topic, it felt like that, a deep dive into defenestration within the structure of a novel. But also it’s a book about family stories that get passed along and about how these family stories can bolster or hinder us. I often get my advanced review copies in e-book format and only when I really LOVE a book and want to read it again, do I then purchase a hard copy for myself, but this one I am definitely going to buy! Learn more about this book on my book recommendation podcast, Books Are My People.

stitching_ghost's review

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4.0

There's something soothing about Branum's prose and I enjoyed my time with it a lot. I'm something of a sucker for stylized prose (possibly because I completely lack the skills to produce any myself) so I don't think anyone will be surprised that I enjoyed the prose in this book. Aside from the prose it features a generally more contemplative vibe and a heavily character driven story, if you're in the mood for that you might just like this one too.