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sakeriver's review against another edition
I really enjoyed this book. There's something about Sheila—the protagonist and narrator—that I just found riveting. Something in the way that she is so consistently self-destructive, the way that she's both self-aware and not. She strikes me as simultaneously just barely held together but also in a way very confident in who she is. Really interesting, I thought.
nerdygnome's review against another edition
4.0
This is an unusual novel, centered around the story of Sheila, who is decidedly quirky — not in a charming way, but more as an awkward, off-balance character.
Sheila, a recluse with precarious mental health, has inherited a box of love letters from her grandmother, who didn't have the chance to explain the letters before passing away. Unemployed and unmoored from traditional life, Sheila decides to spend her time looking into the history behind the letters her grandmother exchanged with a man who is not her grandfather. As she begins to unravel the truth, she begins to more deeply discover herself, too.
I'm impressed that the author has managed to make Sheila deeply likable in spite of her many (and sometimes slightly disturbing) flaws. It's a good book for those who like complicated mother-daugther relationships, epistolary writing, and themes of finding oneself and/or being a hot mess and being okay with it. I wanted more of these characters, which is always a good sign.
Sheila, a recluse with precarious mental health, has inherited a box of love letters from her grandmother, who didn't have the chance to explain the letters before passing away. Unemployed and unmoored from traditional life, Sheila decides to spend her time looking into the history behind the letters her grandmother exchanged with a man who is not her grandfather. As she begins to unravel the truth, she begins to more deeply discover herself, too.
I'm impressed that the author has managed to make Sheila deeply likable in spite of her many (and sometimes slightly disturbing) flaws. It's a good book for those who like complicated mother-daugther relationships, epistolary writing, and themes of finding oneself and/or being a hot mess and being okay with it. I wanted more of these characters, which is always a good sign.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
I have to admit something right off the bat. On paper, reading the back cover description of this book there is no way I would normally have chosen to read this book. I would have shaken off the idea as just not for me. The old saying about judging books by their cover can be extended to many aspects of books which are complete experiences. I read this book because frankly I like Julia. She is a San Diego writer and yeah I naturally root for San Diego writers. I have read a few of her stories and they have all been great. More importantly for me I have seen Julia read/ perform her fiction before and I started this book knowing absolute zero about the plot. I got it and read it purely on the strength of the author.
Now that said I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see her tackle a horror novel, I mean she has written some great horror short stories but it doesn't matter HTSYOF is a excellently written character focused novel.
Set here in San Diego this novel is the story of Sheila who struggles with life a little. She is temp who hates working and is reeling from the death of her Grandmother. Her life is thrown upside down when she finds a box of extra martial love letters in her Grandmother's shoe box. Before these letters the most exciting thing in her life was masturbating to PBS and ease dropping on her neighbor Vinnie's skype calls with his daughter on the east coast. For hilarious reasons Vinnie's daughter ends up moving out west to live with her father. She and Shelia strike up a friendship over the love letters and finding her Grandmother's long lost love Harold C. Carr.
I want to note that for some reason I pictured the Character of Vinnie, as Vinnie Paul of Pantera which made some turns with the character hard for me to take but that is a me problem.
OK back to How to Set Yourself on Fire. So yes Sheila is not exactly what I would call a winner, but she is such a excellently written character as are all the side characters in the piece. Vinnie, his daughter Torrey and Sheila's cringe inducing mother all make this book a page turning experience. I think the weird thing is that this is somewhat of a coming of age novel even though the main character is an adult. Shelia has alot of growing to do.
The most effective moments of writing are found in the moments of parallels, found between Shelia and the letters. Shelia wanted to believe in the romance as much as Harold Carr did. It is not her love story on the surface but it doesn't make it any less heart-breaking. There is a love story here, not a romantic one but Sheila, Vinnie and Torrey come together in a way that is heartwarming. A less talented writer would have spelled out this happy ending, but Julia Dixon Evans is to good a storyteller for that.
Five stars, big thumbs up. Another woman coming out of the San Diego writing scene this a first novel we should all salute. She might not have the sales of Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone, but Evans wrote the better novel in my opinion. Read this excellent novel!
Now that said I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see her tackle a horror novel, I mean she has written some great horror short stories but it doesn't matter HTSYOF is a excellently written character focused novel.
Set here in San Diego this novel is the story of Sheila who struggles with life a little. She is temp who hates working and is reeling from the death of her Grandmother. Her life is thrown upside down when she finds a box of extra martial love letters in her Grandmother's shoe box. Before these letters the most exciting thing in her life was masturbating to PBS and ease dropping on her neighbor Vinnie's skype calls with his daughter on the east coast. For hilarious reasons Vinnie's daughter ends up moving out west to live with her father. She and Shelia strike up a friendship over the love letters and finding her Grandmother's long lost love Harold C. Carr.
I want to note that for some reason I pictured the Character of Vinnie, as Vinnie Paul of Pantera which made some turns with the character hard for me to take but that is a me problem.
OK back to How to Set Yourself on Fire. So yes Sheila is not exactly what I would call a winner, but she is such a excellently written character as are all the side characters in the piece. Vinnie, his daughter Torrey and Sheila's cringe inducing mother all make this book a page turning experience. I think the weird thing is that this is somewhat of a coming of age novel even though the main character is an adult. Shelia has alot of growing to do.
The most effective moments of writing are found in the moments of parallels, found between Shelia and the letters. Shelia wanted to believe in the romance as much as Harold Carr did. It is not her love story on the surface but it doesn't make it any less heart-breaking. There is a love story here, not a romantic one but Sheila, Vinnie and Torrey come together in a way that is heartwarming. A less talented writer would have spelled out this happy ending, but Julia Dixon Evans is to good a storyteller for that.
Five stars, big thumbs up. Another woman coming out of the San Diego writing scene this a first novel we should all salute. She might not have the sales of Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone, but Evans wrote the better novel in my opinion. Read this excellent novel!
butterflybrianna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
janeeyreheaded's review against another edition
4.0
This book is really well written and the story takes you in almost immediately. I wanted to see a bit more growth out of the main character but her adventure was interesting even though you didn’t get that payoff. A good read for a 30 yo who doesn’t feel like they have their shit together.
ktbergs's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book even though I don't think it would be everyone's cup of tea. I blew through it on the subway going to and from work every day and if I hadn't left it AT work for a few days I would have finished it even quicker. It's definitely a quick read but one that is dark, a bit twisted, and super interesting if you're into what the human brain does to survive it's darkest moments. The twist(ish) at the end gutted me. I definitely recommend it if you're into deeply flawed (but extremely believable) characters and figuring out what it means to love someone and show that affection.
amalia1985's review against another edition
5.0
‘’Every wildfire, I feel safe and I don’t feel safe. I care and I don’t care and this is my California. From the concrete walk of the courtyard, I count the ants in twos as they rush across the tops of my shoes, two, four, six, dozens, hundreds, too many to possible all know where they’re going. There’s nothing out here for them, just sidewalk cracks, lifeless plants leaning against the walls, cheap patio furniture, my neighbour’s ashtray, the low- hanging loneliness heavy in the air. I wonder what the ants know that I don’t.’’
Sheila’s life is a minefield waiting to explode. Unable to keep a steady job, with minuscule social interaction, carrying the enormous burden of guilt over her relationship with her mother, haunted by the absence of her father. Until two deaths change everything. Two deaths, a shoebox full of letters dating back to the 50s, a kind neighbour and his twelve-year-old daughter.
‘’My mother always hated cooking onions, so the smell is not nostalgic for me. It’s not a smell of home. It’s a smell of somewhere else, something else, someone else. It’s a smell of longing. It’s a smell of lacking.’’
Julia Dixon Evans writes about motherhood, fatherhood, and companionship. Yes, we want to be ‘’strong’’ and ‘’independent’’ and some of us believe that the fewer people the better (it works wonders for someone’s sanity…) but absolute loneliness seldom solved any problems. This story is an ode to complex relationships, the bond between parents and children, the poisoned thistle of unreciprocated love which can easily become a living Hell. All the doubts and fears, the enormous what-if that torments us all. Living without an aim, a purpose, existing in real-life limbo. And at the heart of it all, the bond between a teenage girl and a grown-up woman who has to open a door on the wall she has been carefully building all these years.
Seen through the eyes of an honest, direct character, a woman that is absolutely, totally messed-up in the most enticing, tangible way, this is a story set in lazy days and salty nights, full of that special quiet before the storm.
‘’O God, make speed to save us. O God, make haste to help us.’’
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
Sheila’s life is a minefield waiting to explode. Unable to keep a steady job, with minuscule social interaction, carrying the enormous burden of guilt over her relationship with her mother, haunted by the absence of her father. Until two deaths change everything. Two deaths, a shoebox full of letters dating back to the 50s, a kind neighbour and his twelve-year-old daughter.
‘’My mother always hated cooking onions, so the smell is not nostalgic for me. It’s not a smell of home. It’s a smell of somewhere else, something else, someone else. It’s a smell of longing. It’s a smell of lacking.’’
Julia Dixon Evans writes about motherhood, fatherhood, and companionship. Yes, we want to be ‘’strong’’ and ‘’independent’’ and some of us believe that the fewer people the better (it works wonders for someone’s sanity…) but absolute loneliness seldom solved any problems. This story is an ode to complex relationships, the bond between parents and children, the poisoned thistle of unreciprocated love which can easily become a living Hell. All the doubts and fears, the enormous what-if that torments us all. Living without an aim, a purpose, existing in real-life limbo. And at the heart of it all, the bond between a teenage girl and a grown-up woman who has to open a door on the wall she has been carefully building all these years.
Seen through the eyes of an honest, direct character, a woman that is absolutely, totally messed-up in the most enticing, tangible way, this is a story set in lazy days and salty nights, full of that special quiet before the storm.
‘’O God, make speed to save us. O God, make haste to help us.’’
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
annaplantain's review
4.0
Sheila is frustrating, relatable, disgusting and heartwarming - all at the same time. She is simultaneously the most real character I've encountered in quite some time while also being a complete enigma and like no one I've ever met. Though I'm generally not fond of children, I found that Torrey was a kid I could appreciate. I would and have recommended this book to my friends.
kerumie's review
4.0
“That’s lovely,” he says, like it’s the first time he’s ever said the word lovely.
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