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uditadol's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
rosewater's review
4.0
given that this book belongs to the 'hot water bottle genre of fiction', I was lucky to pick it up at the time I did. it was a good book! it was nostalgic and very comforting and I strongly recommend to anyone feeling miserable because it's cosy like a hot cup of sugared milk
persey's review
2.0
Dickens's first book is an old favorite; it's such a disappointment that her second book is so pedestrian and predictable. Sometimes her slightly malicious humor glints through, but it's not enough to save this.
dhwan's review against another edition
4.0
Mariana was exactly what I needed right now. I found myself picking up the book all through the day and slowing down towards the end because I didn't want the experience of reading it to finish it! Belonging to the genre of "hot water bottle" books [which might be my new favorite thing], this was a light read that made me smile and laugh throughout. Mary was quite ordinary as far as protagonists go but her wry humor and observations of everything around her made the novel so enjoyable. It's also worth mentioning that for a coming of age / romance novel, this book had such a realistic yet exciting portrayal of love and relationships and what it means to grow up and build who you are.
I only wish I had come across this book and Persephone Books much sooner. I know I'll be revisiting this one soon.
"A corner of the jigsaw of Mary's life had been made into the right pattern, by unknown means. It seemed that one had little control over one's own destiny. All one could do was to get on with the one job that nobody else could do, the job of being oneself."
I only wish I had come across this book and Persephone Books much sooner. I know I'll be revisiting this one soon.
"A corner of the jigsaw of Mary's life had been made into the right pattern, by unknown means. It seemed that one had little control over one's own destiny. All one could do was to get on with the one job that nobody else could do, the job of being oneself."
nadiasfiction's review against another edition
4.0
"But most she loathed the hour
When the thick-moted sunbeam lay
Athwart the chambers, and the day
Was sloping towards his western bower.
Then said she, "I am dreary,
He will not come," she said;
She wept, "I am aweary, aweary,
Oh, God, that I were dead!"
Monica Dickens' novel "Mariana" takes its title from Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem of the same name. It's a poem that Mary, the main character in Dickens' novel, had to learn by heart when she was at Drama School.
The story is the story of Mary's early life. As Mary waits for the morning to get news from the British navy to confirm her husband is lost at sea, she lies alone in her cottage in the country during a storm unable to sleep.
As the night begins, memories flood back and Mary remembers all the childhood moments and her years as a young woman which have shaped her meeting the love of her life.
This is a beautiful ode to love, not the honeyed kind but of the eyes-open-wide.
Dickens crafted such a warm coming of age, and beautifully grasped the obstacles and ups-and-downs of falling in and out of love. This novel will stay with me for a long time.
And don't think the end is all set. It took me totally by surprise. Awesome read.
When the thick-moted sunbeam lay
Athwart the chambers, and the day
Was sloping towards his western bower.
Then said she, "I am dreary,
He will not come," she said;
She wept, "I am aweary, aweary,
Oh, God, that I were dead!"
Monica Dickens' novel "Mariana" takes its title from Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem of the same name. It's a poem that Mary, the main character in Dickens' novel, had to learn by heart when she was at Drama School.
The story is the story of Mary's early life. As Mary waits for the morning to get news from the British navy to confirm her husband is lost at sea, she lies alone in her cottage in the country during a storm unable to sleep.
As the night begins, memories flood back and Mary remembers all the childhood moments and her years as a young woman which have shaped her meeting the love of her life.
This is a beautiful ode to love, not the honeyed kind but of the eyes-open-wide.
Dickens crafted such a warm coming of age, and beautifully grasped the obstacles and ups-and-downs of falling in and out of love. This novel will stay with me for a long time.
And don't think the end is all set. It took me totally by surprise. Awesome read.
camillalice's review against another edition
5.0
It's a slow read, but so beautiful. I just wanted to take my time reading it.
And that ending <3
And that ending <3
eheslosz's review against another edition
4.0
A very comforting and entertaining but surface-level book; similar vibes to ‘I capture the castle” by Dodie Smith, and a nice cyclical timeline with a detailed Bildungsroman section that made up most of the book. I loved the tiny details and descriptions and thoughts that change as Mary progresses from childhood, and I liked the way in which an initially selfish and unlikeable character felt more relatable and warm by the end. I wasn’t the greatest fan of how the protagonist was so conventional and privileged and this was never addressed critically in the narrative, and it wasn’t the kind of book that made me really think. But overall I would recommend it for a fairly quick, comfortable read.
libdibs's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Aside from the internalised and straight-up misogyny, this book did a fantastic job at showing a coming of age process filled with beautiful, intricate contextual details. I loved the variety of female characters, the vivid emotions and atmosphere, and the fantastic subversion right at the end.
bent's review
4.0
I quite like this book. In it, we see the main character, Mary, grow from a girl to a woman. It's a very amusing and engaging book, and despite it's length, was a quick read. I've never read Monica Dickens before but am very curious about some of her other works now. A very enjoyable read.