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scmiller's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Sexism, Abandonment, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, War, Body horror, Bullying, Infertility, and Death of parent
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Car accident
seventhswan's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This one's for the gifted and mildly traumatised girlies who had a weirdly intense, homoerotic friendship in high school that never went anywhere and fizzled out around the same time that their giftedness did... but in 1950s rural France. Which is a relief, or I might have thought parts of the book were about me. Everything in this story was impeccably constructed and I felt genuinely sad for both Agnes and Fabienne throughout, despite - or perhaps because of - some of their actions being borderline indefensible. I've been loving novels with rural settings lately and this was a huge win on that front too.
I do wish the novel hadn't opened with Fabienne's death. I think it would have been more impactful to not be certain what happened to her until the end of the book. Otherwise, though, I could have read a book twice as long about these characters and their world.
I do wish the novel hadn't opened with
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal death and Child death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, War, and Homophobia
deedireads's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
All my reviews live at https://deedireads.com/.
This is a tricky book to review. It definitely wasn’t want I expected, even though the synopsis paints a fully accurate picture of the events of the book. It’s told from a woman named Agnès’ perspective, fully in flashback as she tells us about her (not very healthy) childhood friendship with a dynamic young woman named Fabienne.
Ultimately, this ended up in a “liked a lot” instead of a “loved” category for me. I think it was just a little too much “and then, and then, and then” held away at juuuust a little too much distance. But also, the prose was excellent, and some of the philosophical musings Agnès tugs from her experiences are really striking. There’s a lot to unpack here about girlhood and girlhood friendship, plus class and generational class changes. I will definitely be reading more of Yiyun Li’s work, and I’m excited that she’s on the Booker Prize judging panel this year.
This is a tricky book to review. It definitely wasn’t want I expected, even though the synopsis paints a fully accurate picture of the events of the book. It’s told from a woman named Agnès’ perspective, fully in flashback as she tells us about her (not very healthy) childhood friendship with a dynamic young woman named Fabienne.
Ultimately, this ended up in a “liked a lot” instead of a “loved” category for me. I think it was just a little too much “and then, and then, and then” held away at juuuust a little too much distance. But also, the prose was excellent, and some of the philosophical musings Agnès tugs from her experiences are really striking. There’s a lot to unpack here about girlhood and girlhood friendship, plus class and generational class changes. I will definitely be reading more of Yiyun Li’s work, and I’m excited that she’s on the Booker Prize judging panel this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Animal death
rachel06elizabeth's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Immersive and unputdownable, very vivid characterisation. The portrayal of Agnés and Fabienne's friendship is nuanced, and the tension between them is palpable. The nature of their relationship and Agnes' exploration of individuality and freedom are fascinating central themes.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death and Animal death
mollybryann's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The prose was graphically beautiful. The friendship between the two main characters was a bit hard to follow at times as to what Fabienne was trying to do with certain actions, though I suppose that might be the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Animal cruelty, War, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Classism, Blood, War, Racism, Miscarriage, Rape, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Violence, Murder, Grief, and Gore
“When I was first married to Earl, he often took pleasure in teaching me things that I had not known. Once, he explained to me about the Mohs scale, which was used to test the hardness of minerals and gems. Diamond is the hardest, he said, and diamond can scratch any gem on the scale, but every other gem can leave only a scrape on those softer than itself. None of them would do anything to a diamond. Perhaps I was born a material different from my parents. I was born a hard person, harder than most people in my life, so I have only myself to blame when I cannot feel the love of others, my parents among them. Love from those who cannot damage us irreparably often feels insufficient; we may think, rightly or wrongly, that their love does not matter at all.” “But her personality, I now understand, was impaired by her desire to be good and to be right. To be good was in her nature. She took genuine pleasure in being good. However, where does the desire to be right lead one, if not to the wrong place? Knowing Mrs. Townsend's mind and speaking on her behalf-these Catalina did with perfect ease and confidence, as she must have spoken on behalf of other authorities before Woodsway, and would continue to do so after Woodsway. I was too young then to dread a person like her. I have since encountered other versions of Catalina; each time I have to reeducate myself in avoiding people's good intentions.”graceesford's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and War
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