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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
This is one of those books where you're not sure you're going to keep going but are so intrigued that you do. Marta is married to Hector and their marriage is perfect - mainly because on her wedding day she was given the book 'How to be a good wife'. There are stops and starts and bumps here and moments of holding your breath but ultimately you have an enthralling yet unsettling story which Emma Chapman has cleverly and beautifully written.
I received this book as a First Reads giveaway.
I was very exicted to get this book. I had read a synopsis and had it on my to-read list for a while so I was eager to get started on this book. And I was not disappointed. From the get-go I was pulled into Marta's world. I became apparent early on that things are not right in Marta's life. The lines between the real and imagined are blurred. In fact, the author did such a great job that I almost felt like I was going crazy myself. I found myself liking Marta from the beginning and instantly disliking and distrusting her husband Hector. I was convinced through most of the book that he was doing (or had done) something to her to make her hallucinate. I won't discuss the plot as I don't want to give awawy the story. I will say that I found the story original and interesting. I liked that the story was not set in any particular location. It could be anywhere, really.
I finished this book earlier today and I am still trying to decide how I feel about the ending. The author left me with some doubts about Marta and even though I was convinced throughout the entire story that her husband was likely hurting her, in the end I could not be sure. Marta struggled with fantasy and reality throughout the book so it's fitting that the author left us with an ending that left things vague. I guess it's up to us to decide what to believe. Overall, a great debut novel and I look forward to more from Emma Chapman.
I was very exicted to get this book. I had read a synopsis and had it on my to-read list for a while so I was eager to get started on this book. And I was not disappointed. From the get-go I was pulled into Marta's world. I became apparent early on that things are not right in Marta's life. The lines between the real and imagined are blurred. In fact, the author did such a great job that I almost felt like I was going crazy myself. I found myself liking Marta from the beginning and instantly disliking and distrusting her husband Hector. I was convinced through most of the book that he was doing (or had done) something to her to make her hallucinate. I won't discuss the plot as I don't want to give awawy the story. I will say that I found the story original and interesting. I liked that the story was not set in any particular location. It could be anywhere, really.
I finished this book earlier today and I am still trying to decide how I feel about the ending. The author left me with some doubts about Marta and even though I was convinced throughout the entire story that her husband was likely hurting her, in the end I could not be sure. Marta struggled with fantasy and reality throughout the book so it's fitting that the author left us with an ending that left things vague. I guess it's up to us to decide what to believe. Overall, a great debut novel and I look forward to more from Emma Chapman.
I finished this ages ago! Not sure why I didn't shelve it already.
This book started off slow, but the journey was perfectly timed. It slowly drew you in and opened up a whole new world.
I would give it 2.5 stars. It's very strange, sad and dark but didn't have a strong enough middle section for my taste. Can't say too much or it will be given away.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While at times I found certain things in this to be a little redundant...overall though it was disturbing and very reminiscent of [b:Dark Places|5886881|Dark Places|Gillian Flynn|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1354988288s/5886881.jpg|6873353] or really any of Gillian Flynn's other works. Considering it's a debut, it really is pretty impressive, and definitely left me wanting more, which is always a refreshing change from just trying to slog through the end of a book and wishing it was a few hundred pages shorter. Ambiguous and unnerving, this novel feels like a slow descent into madness, where you still feel sane just enough but begin to notice whispers and impossible things lingering on your periphery. And ultimately the question is: is she insane, or a tragic victim of something much worse. I tend to believe in the latter.
This book follows Marta and her marriage to Hector. She starts having more intense visions and you aren't sure what is real in her mind and what is not real. A good read, but didn't make me say "wow".
This had some promise in the beginning but it didn’t really go anywhere, and the writing was not great. I appreciate the murkiness of the narration by a character who’s losing it but it left too much to the reader’s discretion.