Reviews

Improvement by Joan Silber

quietmachine's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

katie19's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

oliver's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mimika9's review

3.0

Maybe 2.75. I find the author’s turn of phrase very readable but I was not interested in anyone but Kiki and Reyna. I skimmed a lot.

fesd5's review against another edition

emotional fast-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

5.0

Couldn't put it down! Not the kind of book I normally read, so found it very refreshing and insightful. All of the characters felt unique and well thought through. Although there were characters of different races, I reviewed the book as not being diverse because all of the narrators were white. 

kristian26's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

michellekmartin's review against another edition

3.0

This was my first Joan Silber and I loved her writing. I will say, I struggled with this book at moments because it felt more like short stories than a novel, but that could be my bias towards short stories. There were so many characters that it sometimes felt hard to remember how we got to a particular story, which led me to feel disconnected.
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One thing that struck me, and that I really enjoyed, was how this book explores the idea of the butterfly effect and the small ways in which we can all find connection with/to one another. Which, when you really think about it, can be a very lovely thought

ferris_mx's review against another edition

5.0

I preferred this to Secrets of Happiness. Compelling story, rich & deep. I can only grasp at why the relevance of the title.

acorn192k's review against another edition

hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

nicolaparty's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident