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lokuttara's review
2.0
Strange book. Moments of genius with some beautiful writing swallowed up by so many difficult to decode sentences and digressions deep into the curtains and the carpets and the floor. The question is, how much do you want a book to challenge you? The answer for me changed depending on my mood, so at times I loved it but at times I found it infuriating and unnecessarily slow, cryptic and unwieldy. Ultimately I get a bit impatient when I have to re read sentences more them once/twice to figure out what the author is attempting to get at.
ellej88's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cheekylaydee's review
2.0
Written as stream of consciousness which I don't mind but for the majority of the book it was written in the 3rd person which didn't really work for me. Virginia Woolf did it better. Just not for me and if it hadn't have been so short I probably would have DNFed.
breadandmushrooms's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
natasha1's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
purplefish101's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Vaguely interesting
essjay1's review
4.0
An extraordinary book. As a study of extreme grief it is superb. As a novel it is difficult to read and even harder to like. The narrators constant internal monologue will wear thin for some, there is a lot of weighing up of options, a bit of back tracking, lots of dithering near the doorway. Not a book to be read small bites - this will need all of your attention. Did I enjoy it? Not so much, although there are some laugh out loud funny lines. Am I pleased I read it? Absolutely. I suspect that I have barely scratched the surface here, and that this is a book that will only reveal its depths on subsequent readings.
ainepalmtree's review
i love mcbride's writing and want to return to this, but didn't quite cohere for me on first read
tasdetrucs's review
4.0
Interesting prose, which is almost poetic. By which, I mean that it reads a lot like spoken word poetry at times. Confronts middle-aged womanhood head-on; insecurities, sexuality and desire.