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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book hit me a lot harder than i expected it to. i was in tears. i can’t form too many thoughts at the moment but the exploration of mental illness felt very real, and devastating. yet this devastation is met with dry humor, so the book is not too difficult to get through. while martha is unlikeable character, she is more likable because she recognizes she’s in the wrong. she can’t stop herself from destroying everything around her including herself, due to her mental illness. the themes of motherhood that were explored hit hard for me. this book felt so real, like it was actually someone’s life i was reading about. i loved it.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Den her bog var absolut genial. Jeg elskede den og kan ikke tænke på andet nu. Og jeg kan ikke engang forklare hvorfor. Så det bliver jo nemt at lave en anmeldelse
“… things do happen. Terrible things. The only thing any of us get to do is decide whether they happen to us or if, at least in part, they happen for us.”
even more beautiful than I remembered. a five star read then and now!
I feel like I read a different book than everyone else. Did not connect with Martha and just did not enjoy at all. Forced myself to finish. Cute cover though, and good ending
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
I’m trying to put together how I really feel about this book. While I think the focus on Martha‘s mental illness was helpful, and not disclosing what she was really suffering from was really interesting , I found it hard to empathize with what she was going through. I like that she turned her life around at the very end. But I also a long time coming. Her relationship with everyone around her, had me unsettled, especially with Patrick. And I couldn’t help feeling bad for him of how much he was used (abused?) and chose to stay with Martha. It didn’t make me like him very much. I felt the relationship with her mother was an interesting turnaround, and how she redeemed herself with all of them. But I don’t feel their forgiveness was entirely justified. But, like the quote in the book, forgotten is forgiveness.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I felt unsettled a lot while reading this book, but that may have been the point. so many of the characters had moments of tenderness and kindness as well as selfishness and cruelty. The relationships were so complex. The absolute heartbreak of Martha's condition was well balanced with the humorous texting with her sister and witty moments sprinkled throughout. I sometimes got a little confused by the sentence structure and writing style, but again, that may have been the point. There was nothing logical about Martha's thinking and this was revealed in the choppy nature of the writing sometimes. I found the author's understanding of family dynamics in general and specifically when mental illness is involved (and lets be real, what family does not have that to some degree), was fascinating and very realistic. The genetic nature of mental illness and generational trauma was also captured in a subtle way. Finally, the parent daughter relationships and the descriptions around the expectations of motherhood were particularly resonant with me.