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balbsharp's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ashp's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, and Child death
An excellent satire that’s also quirky with social commentary. There is use of the r-word to show its outdated use. I also liked that the story was set in Boston.alyssa_olaf's review
2.0
I really liked the premise of this almost being a study on domesticity, but the story just fell flat. I couldn’t connect or empathize with Joyce or Lydia and slugged through the last 70% of the novel. I did enjoy the poems inspired by the neighborhood watch group posts though.
alyssiatsmith's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
kristensreadingnook's review
4.0
4.25 stars
“Years later, when you’re older and have known more people and have seen some of the world, you’ll realize that what you saw those Christmas Days was a happy family, and that the thing missing from yours that you could never name — the language none of you spoke in your country — was joy.”
The style of Small World is very unique. Some of the chapters (those reflecting on the past) are written in 2nd person, while the rest of the chapter (those in the present) are written in 1st person. I’m not sure I’ve ever read another book with that type of format.
I loved getting a glimpse into the life of two sisters who suffered a major loss as children, and how that shaped the rest of their lives. Each sister was relatable with her own unique perspective and experiences. My favorite aspect of the book were the poems that Joyce took from the post on the neighborhood chat boards. It reminded me a lot of Kate Baer’s poetry.
Read if you like:
Character driven novels
Sister relationships
Poetry
Disability representation
“Years later, when you’re older and have known more people and have seen some of the world, you’ll realize that what you saw those Christmas Days was a happy family, and that the thing missing from yours that you could never name — the language none of you spoke in your country — was joy.”
The style of Small World is very unique. Some of the chapters (those reflecting on the past) are written in 2nd person, while the rest of the chapter (those in the present) are written in 1st person. I’m not sure I’ve ever read another book with that type of format.
I loved getting a glimpse into the life of two sisters who suffered a major loss as children, and how that shaped the rest of their lives. Each sister was relatable with her own unique perspective and experiences. My favorite aspect of the book were the poems that Joyce took from the post on the neighborhood chat boards. It reminded me a lot of Kate Baer’s poetry.
Read if you like:
Character driven novels
Sister relationships
Poetry
Disability representation
vmdube's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
reading_rainbow_with_chris's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“Small World” by Laura Zigman
Approaching 50, Joyce suddenly finds herself divorced and working from home. Her sister Lydia moves in, experiencing an almost identical situation. Haunted by a mother who neglected them to care for their third developmentally disabled sibling and challenged in the present by two eccentric upstairs neighbors, the two sisters figure out how to live together again and to come to terms with their past.
This book just did not sit right with me. It grates on me when characters are written such that the things which make them kind of awful people are framed as quirks and history to be unraveled. Joyce is mean-spirited, Lydia is rude and obliviousness, and neither of them are good at communication this late in life. Additionally, there are too many variables in their story. At first this feels like it will be about the sisters living together. Then it becomes about the upstairs neighbors. Then it’s about the mom and their disabled sister who passed (both of whom are handed a disproportionate amount of the blame for the bad behavior of the adult sisters). Then at about 85% it’s about a HUGE bombshell that could have been the whole focus of the book. Then at 90%, another bombshell, barely with any time for Joyce to process the first and yet it all seems right as rain. I’m just not here for that kind of timeline.
In short, this book feels like it’s trying to do something heartwarming, a reconciliation story. But it’s poorly paced, with characters making excuses for their behaviors at the expense of their families in a way that feels like it marks disabled family members as a cause of trauma. The most interesting element of the sisters’ stories were revealed far too late, too late to be genuinely explored and dealt with. The book is harmless enough, but I can’t say it endeared me to go any further with Zigman in her writing.
brob1856's review
4.0
A super heartfelt book! It wasn’t what I thought it would be but perhaps that made it even better. For some reason I was expecting darker vibes but perhaps that was just the cover art. I am adding separation anxiety to my TBR list and will definitely stay on the lookout for more from this author, I can tell she has lots of room to evolve but the subject matter and topic for this novel of life with family and the practice of healing is certainly a universal one.