Reviews

Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy

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nancyalicerose's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Beautiful, powerful book.

Content Warnings

myinfinitetbr's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

5.0

Woooooow
“Tender and harrowing, Kilroy’s modern masterpiece portrays parenthood in all its agony and ardent joy.” = Perfectly encapsulates this book.

In gorgeous prose and directed toward her son who she lovingly refers to as Sailor, Kilroy details exactly what it feels like to be a new mother, and recognizing that the expectations are stacked against females in relationships and in society.

She shows motherhood in the thick of postpartum depression, the isolation of holding it all to yourself, and the maddening struggle of your partner not knowing to how to help carry the weight.

She weaves a realistic and humorous look into the relationship between mother and child, the ups and downs in every phase, the impossible love of it. How motherhood has the power to shift your entire identity to fiercely protect this new person that came from you, who also tests your every patience while you cling to sanity.

I loved that she highlighted the necessity of having friends that ‘get it’ and assure you that no, you’re not crazy but they can actually relate.

"𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭; 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵."

No one prepares you for a love like this.
Phew. No wonder it was shortlisted for Women’s Prize for Fiction.

I loved the audio; Simone Collins narrates beautifully. I didn't want to put this one down.

Thank you Scribner for my gifted copy, and Simon Audio/LibroFM for the ALC!

linda97's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

ryelees's review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.75

I picked up this book because I saw the author recommended several times, despite not being a mother (or, honestly, particularly interested in the topic). I found the book very entertaining and well done.

I liked the structure. It's a pet peeve when a first person narrative doesn't have a reason the story is being told. I'm always like "who are they talking to?". Here, it was immediately clear who she was talking to and why she was telling the story.

I worried the book was going to be cheesy and/or cringey. The "I married an asshole who doesn't help me clean!" narrative that's too realistic to be entertaining, but that wasn't the case. It's realistic, nuanced, and raw. It can be heavy handed at times, but rarely. I wanted to help her. I wanted to give her someone to talk to.

I think if I could relate to the material more, it would have been even better. It was also a bit slow and times and the MC isn't the most memorable.