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mariebrunelm's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-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
4.0
1939, a small town in the South of the USA. A handful of characters lend us their perspectives - a bar owner, a young teenager, a black doctor, a newcomer with an alcohol issue, and the mute employee of a jewellery. Together, they draw a complete portrait of this average town in all its intricacies and daily struggles, while each one battles their own demons and nurtures their own longing for something more.
I have to admit it took me a long, long time to get into this book, so much so that I kept wondering if I was right to keep reading for the first 150 pages. Something in the language made it hard for me to read with any fluidity, although there weren't particularly complex words or idioms specific to the time this book was written. Then, without my noticing it, I got attached to these very flawed characters and started to care. They are very different from each other by the author does a spectacular job of giving each one a voice. I can't speak to the disability representation. I'm honestly not sure how well that is done, especially in the first pages where it intersects with fat representation.
On the whole, though the story and characters are rooted in their times, this book has a timeless quality to it given the number of themes that are still sadly relevant today (see the content warnings). There are some really harrowing passages, but they all are quite short and the changes in points of view makes it easier to bear. All in all it wasn't an easy book to read for several reasons, but I'm glad I did. Definitely not a favourite, but one I can tick off my classics' list.
I have to admit it took me a long, long time to get into this book, so much so that I kept wondering if I was right to keep reading for the first 150 pages. Something in the language made it hard for me to read with any fluidity, although there weren't particularly complex words or idioms specific to the time this book was written. Then, without my noticing it, I got attached to these very flawed characters and started to care. They are very different from each other by the author does a spectacular job of giving each one a voice. I can't speak to the disability representation. I'm honestly not sure how well that is done, especially in the first pages where it intersects with fat representation.
On the whole, though the story and characters are rooted in their times, this book has a timeless quality to it given the number of themes that are still sadly relevant today (see the content warnings). There are some really harrowing passages, but they all are quite short and the changes in points of view makes it easier to bear. All in all it wasn't an easy book to read for several reasons, but I'm glad I did. Definitely not a favourite, but one I can tick off my classics' list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Alcoholism, Racism, and Suicide
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Police brutality, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
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