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carbonaden's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.5
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
"...many things that seem quaint now were current and powerful then: shame, and secrecy, and the fear that other people would worm themselves into your weaknesses, and that their knowledge of how you had lapsed and failed would eat you from the inside. My mother used to wear white gloves to go to the shops in summer."
Strongly reminded me of Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood, so... Canadian? It's actually set in England.
"Yet it's surprising how often I've thought about her since those days - not particularly warmly nor resentfully, just aware of her existing somewhere, picking at the knot of her life in her own way. Some people accompany you like this in imagination, long after you've dropped any real connection with them."
milly_in_the_library's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy stories of mundane life and this one was very good. It has some lovely writing in it, and although I'm very different to the protagonist, I really did care about her.
This was written by a Uni lecturer I had, which was why I picked it up; a good find!
This was written by a Uni lecturer I had, which was why I picked it up; a good find!
ajreader's review against another edition
3.0
Read my full thoughts over at Read.Write.Repeat.
I really enjoyed this book. I would categorize it as one of those books you do not fully appreciate until you finish it. Then, seeing the story as a whole, you realize what a beautiful piece about life and relationships it is. While your between pages, some of those over arching themes can be easier to miss.
I really enjoyed this book. I would categorize it as one of those books you do not fully appreciate until you finish it. Then, seeing the story as a whole, you realize what a beautiful piece about life and relationships it is. While your between pages, some of those over arching themes can be easier to miss.
emiemzy's review against another edition
2.0
Is it just me that found this a bit of a Jane Eyre rip off? I felt like I was following the tale of a modern day Jane, which by no means is a problem, but it just didn't wow me. I really enjoyed those first opening chapters but there were some really interesting things that came into view and were just thrown into the background. Like, why bring it up, make it out to be a big thing, and then not include it in the rest of the story? (If you've read the book and you're wondering what I'm on about, it's that whole tree cult thing Stella and Madeline make up). And then other things weren't explained in the depth that they could have. For example, the milk bottle through the window: I don't even know what happened there, what happened afterwards and what happened leading up to it. I know what I think happened but it's still not obvious, even after re-reading. And Hadley just seems to have used symbolism at every opportunity, there are things that just scream 'Look at my deeper meaning' and while that is no bad thing, I just feel like she's been rubbing it in my face a little.
But I did eat this book up quicker than you can say'Jane Eyre' 'Clever Girl'. The words just came together in gentle waves and my hands refused to put the damn thing down. It was poetic and crafted like an intricate piece of art. Yes, despite myself I am praising this book exceptionally well but I can't ignore the fact it felt so good on a technical level.
But then I do also hate the ending.
But I did eat this book up quicker than you can say
But then I do also hate the ending.
rachelhelps's review against another edition
3.0
I borrowed this ebook from the library, mostly to see if I could, and then I felt like I should read it. It's a work of fiction that reads like a memoir, from the protagonist's childhood to her golden years. The prose felt very unrushed and it focused on smells and feelings rather than things happening. There was a fair bit of drama that I tired of (she has two sons with two different fathers). But I enjoyed exploring the woman's inner life. I identified with how she at times loved book learning and other times felt it was shallow.
debi_g's review
4.0
Narrated as if in confidence, this life story spans a life from childhood to middle age. The novel is a lovely, deceptively simple representation of life: the big questions, dreams, disillusionments, decisions, and deceptions.
Coincidence and the assignation of meaning, free-will, timing and agency, physical and mental survival, the kindness of strangers, striving or settling, the reliable chafing of families, the contrast of expectations and realities...all of this can be considered while reading Clever Girl. After all, we girls are pretty clever in spite of it all, and if we’re honest, we recognize ourselves somewhere in this book.
“Sometimes when I was looking into a page of text it seemed transparent, all its meaning and ironies and metaphorical thickness and musical arrangement showing themselves to me easily. What I wrote about the texts in my essays seemed almost obvious, it was just there— except that not everyone saw it” (185-186).
“Sometimes when I looked up from my books I was overwhelmed by the real moment in the air around me; but I saw that the other could take you underground, if you weren’t vigilant. It could lead into substitute satisfactions, ersatz and second hand” (191-182).
Coincidence and the assignation of meaning, free-will, timing and agency, physical and mental survival, the kindness of strangers, striving or settling, the reliable chafing of families, the contrast of expectations and realities...all of this can be considered while reading Clever Girl. After all, we girls are pretty clever in spite of it all, and if we’re honest, we recognize ourselves somewhere in this book.
“Sometimes when I was looking into a page of text it seemed transparent, all its meaning and ironies and metaphorical thickness and musical arrangement showing themselves to me easily. What I wrote about the texts in my essays seemed almost obvious, it was just there— except that not everyone saw it” (185-186).
“Sometimes when I looked up from my books I was overwhelmed by the real moment in the air around me; but I saw that the other could take you underground, if you weren’t vigilant. It could lead into substitute satisfactions, ersatz and second hand” (191-182).
kelbi's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't like it much. I finished it but I found the female narrator very detached from the story of her life that she was telling, which made me detached too. I did not really care about what happened to her. And what happened to her, in the context of a life, was not a lot. It bored me basically.
kaelizaco's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Drug use, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Death