Scan barcode
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
4.0
This is a hard novel to describe. It's set in Paris, where Elena has been hired by a friend of her dead mother to fictionalize her missing daughter's journals. But it's really set in northern Thailand, which is where the missing woman, Ella, had been teaching English before she disappeared, but those parts of the novel, while they are far more vivid and detailed than the "real" parts, are just Elena's imagining what Ella's life was like. And while Ella's life was a mess; she'd fallen for a self-involved and self-congratulatory American, her housemate had some serious emotional issues going on and her own issues made teaching difficult, at least Ella was out there living her life. Elena was busy not living hers, using this temporary job as a way to leave her long-term boyfriend behind as well as her graduate studies. She may be living in Paris, but she's treading water, hoping that by immersing herself in Ella's story, she'll find the way back into her own.
I was wary going into this one as it felt too insubstantial given that all Elena does is wander around moodily, but her imagining of Ella's life is vivid and takes up the majority of the book. And, to give Elena credit, she chose the right place to be aimless. I wouldn't mind being aimless in a rent-free apartment in Montmartre. I liked the meta touches in this novel, too, the way the reader is reminded that Elena is making things up, that she's writing for a specific person and that she is ignorant of most of the facts. But what else is fiction, but someone making stuff up in the absence of fact, embroidering on ideas and fragments? This is an off-beat kind of book that won't appeal to everyone, but there's something interesting going on here.
I was wary going into this one as it felt too insubstantial given that all Elena does is wander around moodily, but her imagining of Ella's life is vivid and takes up the majority of the book. And, to give Elena credit, she chose the right place to be aimless. I wouldn't mind being aimless in a rent-free apartment in Montmartre. I liked the meta touches in this novel, too, the way the reader is reminded that Elena is making things up, that she's writing for a specific person and that she is ignorant of most of the facts. But what else is fiction, but someone making stuff up in the absence of fact, embroidering on ideas and fragments? This is an off-beat kind of book that won't appeal to everyone, but there's something interesting going on here.
abigaillaurawriter's review against another edition
2.0
This book didn’t hit for me. I couldn’t buy the plot of a woman rewriting another woman’s journals in order to find her. It was a little surreal in the writing, which I wasn’t a huge fan of. I will say that for some readers this will be a great book, but it wasn’t for me.
watermellison's review against another edition
3.0
I think that the writing is good, but that the book can be very confusing. This is a book that you really REALLY have to think about in order to understand, I feel. I think the idea is great and that the author did a great job in getting you interested in the story, and I will admit that there were days and nights that I only wanted to read because I needed to know what happened next. I definitely wanted to get to the end of the book.
redroofcolleen's review against another edition
2.0
Great cover art! An initially interesting concept with beautifully evocative passages, the story quickly becomes suffocating and difficult to follow.
julie1burgess's review
2.0
An atmospheric, dreamy novel unlike anything I’ve ever read.
I was intrigued by the concept of this story right away. I’m always drawn to stories that feature written correspondence or journals, and this definitely fit that bill. Elena is hired to bring Ella’s journals to life, in hopes that an answer to Ella’s disappearance can be found in the pages. There are three voices telling this story: Elena, when she is in Paris working on this project; Ella via her journals; and Elena reimagining Ella’s life as she digests the journal entries.
The story jumps between these layered voices, and my engagement with it ebbed and flowed throughout the reading. I struggled to connect with the stilted, present-tense writing style. I enjoyed the author’s vivid descriptions of moments and places, but I’m left feeling foggy.
Thanks to the publisher, Bellevue Literary Press, for an advance copy of this book.
I was intrigued by the concept of this story right away. I’m always drawn to stories that feature written correspondence or journals, and this definitely fit that bill. Elena is hired to bring Ella’s journals to life, in hopes that an answer to Ella’s disappearance can be found in the pages. There are three voices telling this story: Elena, when she is in Paris working on this project; Ella via her journals; and Elena reimagining Ella’s life as she digests the journal entries.
The story jumps between these layered voices, and my engagement with it ebbed and flowed throughout the reading. I struggled to connect with the stilted, present-tense writing style. I enjoyed the author’s vivid descriptions of moments and places, but I’m left feeling foggy.
Thanks to the publisher, Bellevue Literary Press, for an advance copy of this book.
lisagray68's review against another edition
3.0
I got this book free from Library Thing's early reviewers program. It was an easy, interesting read, but a lot of it didn't really make sense to me. I had several questions that weren't answered, and I didn't really find the characters realistic. But it's a quick mysterious read with a lot of setting in Thailand, which was interesting.
karenika's review against another edition
2.0
This is the story of Elena, who is on leave from graduate school and takes an assignment to read and rewrite the diaries of a young woman who went missing six years earlier in Thailand.
As she dives into Ella's story, Elena's life and sense of self gets mixed in Ella's and she gets more and more lost in what happened to Ella.
I was never able to get into this story, the names of the two girls were too similar and it was easy to lose track of who was who and what went on. It's very possible this was done on purpose to have the reader experience some of the confusion Elena was experiencing but it made it hard for me to really enjoy the story.
with gratitude to edelweiss for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
As she dives into Ella's story, Elena's life and sense of self gets mixed in Ella's and she gets more and more lost in what happened to Ella.
I was never able to get into this story, the names of the two girls were too similar and it was easy to lose track of who was who and what went on. It's very possible this was done on purpose to have the reader experience some of the confusion Elena was experiencing but it made it hard for me to really enjoy the story.
with gratitude to edelweiss for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
lauralhart's review against another edition
5.0
A stunning debut told through three unique perspectives (two lived, one invented) about performance of the self and the ability to find—and lose—ourselves in others.
jcutreads's review against another edition
2.0
How I wanted to love this. Lauded by both Rebecca Makkai and my mother - "remember Amanda Dennis from down the street? She wrote a book and it's favored to be a huge hit" - I had very high expectations. Dennis is a writer - there's no doubt of her skill and talent - but she is not a storyteller. Both Elena and Ella were one-dimensional characters with few relatable qualities. While neither was "dégueulasse" by any means, they were not very memorable. Elena's rewrite of Ella's journals bordered on cringeworthy, if only because Elena came so close to feeling and becoming Ella. Siobhan's ask of Elena was even more particular since Siobhan did not keep up the relationship with Ida (Elena's mother) nor did Siobhan really know Elena separate from Ida. Elena's imagining of Ella's journey in Thailand seemed reminiscent of many young adults who go to SE Asia hoping to "eat, pray, love" but cannot cope with more mature events and happenings - a vacation is only a vacation until it becomes real life. And Elena's avoidance of real life through Ella's journey was just was escapist as Ella leaving in the first place.
dreesreads's review
4.0
An unusual book about an unsolveable mystery.
Ella disappeared in Thailand 6 years ago. Her birth mother Siobhan has her journals, and hires her own late best friend Ida's daughter Elena to turn those journals into a narrative story. Siobhan and Ida were pregnant at the same time, so Elena is the age Ella would be. Elena has struggled since her mother's death, and takes the job despite her own misgivings about her mental health, her PhD program, her boyfriend, and if she can or should let herself "be" Ella to better understand the journals and write her story.
Honestly, I am surprised this book did not get more attention, but then it is also hard to categorize. With themes ranging from adoption and the wisdom of keeping it a secret, to mental health, grief, accidents, and the unknowable, it is timely. The writing is good, maybe it could have been edited down a bit, but this is a solid and interesting novel.
Ella disappeared in Thailand 6 years ago. Her birth mother Siobhan has her journals, and hires her own late best friend Ida's daughter Elena to turn those journals into a narrative story. Siobhan and Ida were pregnant at the same time, so Elena is the age Ella would be. Elena has struggled since her mother's death, and takes the job despite her own misgivings about her mental health, her PhD program, her boyfriend, and if she can or should let herself "be" Ella to better understand the journals and write her story.
Honestly, I am surprised this book did not get more attention, but then it is also hard to categorize. With themes ranging from adoption and the wisdom of keeping it a secret, to mental health, grief, accidents, and the unknowable, it is timely. The writing is good, maybe it could have been edited down a bit, but this is a solid and interesting novel.