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fallinh's review against another edition
5.0
"The bike and I, we're only at ease when we're all alone."
"Poor bicycle, alone with me on this road, and poor knee. My bicycle and my knee seemed to carry all the weight of the sickly sky. I felt an irresistible urge to cry come over me, on this heavy road that stretched out everywhere. And so I cried.
I pedaled harder."
"All at once, it seemed as if I'd been pedaling in the dark for practically fifteen years, to arrive one night amid those lights."
"Poor bicycle, alone with me on this road, and poor knee. My bicycle and my knee seemed to carry all the weight of the sickly sky. I felt an irresistible urge to cry come over me, on this heavy road that stretched out everywhere. And so I cried.
I pedaled harder."
"All at once, it seemed as if I'd been pedaling in the dark for practically fifteen years, to arrive one night amid those lights."
evilisarelaysport's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
okenwillow's review against another edition
1.0
Traumatisme de collège, classe de 5ème !
Certains ont été traumatisés pas les classiques, moi par un contemporain !
J'en garde un souvenir glauque, déprimant, grisâtre, une histoire anxiogène à se tirer une balle.
Un vrai cauchemar, bien au-delà de l'ennui, malgré l'enthousiasme du prof pour qui ce livre était un coup de cœur o_O
Certains ont été traumatisés pas les classiques, moi par un contemporain !
J'en garde un souvenir glauque, déprimant, grisâtre, une histoire anxiogène à se tirer une balle.
Un vrai cauchemar, bien au-delà de l'ennui, malgré l'enthousiasme du prof pour qui ce livre était un coup de cœur o_O
happy_stomach's review against another edition
3.0
Tragic is not quite the right word to describe Cagnati’s depiction of childhood in this novel. There is extreme solitude and suggestions of cruelty and violence. As I was reading, I wondered if the story would eventually tip to horror. Cagnati didn’t go that far, but this book still isn’t for the fainthearted.
bexapril1's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most frustrating and desolate books I've ever read. Compelled me though.
amoeba_reading's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
michaelgreenreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
5.0
We are ending the year with one of my classic French literature novels from my mom. ♥️ I now have a new author to return to if I ever want a good cry.
Poor Galla!!! 🥺 This was a sad book to end 2021, but I do not regret it! I am astounded by how masterfully it transports you to a tragic weekend in 1950s France for a poor Italian girl.
Cagnati’s writing is remarkably beautiful and tender right from the start. The heaviness of Galla’s love for her rusty bike. The tears for her dog, Daisy. The quiet despair of her family’s farm land full of stones and the river where everything goes. 😭😭😭😭
If you loved THE GLASS CASTLE or TWOPENCE TO CROSS THE MERSEY this book and its young narrator will nestle its way into your heart. It’s good. ✨
Poor Galla!!! 🥺 This was a sad book to end 2021, but I do not regret it! I am astounded by how masterfully it transports you to a tragic weekend in 1950s France for a poor Italian girl.
Cagnati’s writing is remarkably beautiful and tender right from the start. The heaviness of Galla’s love for her rusty bike. The tears for her dog, Daisy. The quiet despair of her family’s farm land full of stones and the river where everything goes. 😭😭😭😭
If you loved THE GLASS CASTLE or TWOPENCE TO CROSS THE MERSEY this book and its young narrator will nestle its way into your heart. It’s good. ✨
amkclaes's review against another edition
3.75
Read in French
Enjoyable read. Surprisingly dark- shocking gruesome events are told with almost an aloof tone, sometimes I'd have to read it over again. Galla reminded me so very much of myself at that age. Cagnati hits perfectly that tone of darkness laced with naivete and so much melodrama and frankness that it becomes humorous yet pitiable, often found in kids forced to grow up too fast and take on adult emotional (and other) responsibilities at a young age
I loved the setting of the book, a little escape to the countryside. And I loved the idea of being tainted by your context, of having your fate be decided by the aesthetics of your surroundings, the exploration of the idea of fate and misfortune and the aesthetics of class differences. I also found the way that family dynamics were explored to be interesting, as we hardly even meet the parents and so only have Galla's anecdotes and emotional storytelling to know them by. Overall we are very confined to Galla's inner life which corresponds to her isolation.
At times the short stoppy prose was tedious, but we are in the mind of a 14 year old, so I accept it.
recommend overall
Enjoyable read. Surprisingly dark- shocking gruesome events are told with almost an aloof tone, sometimes I'd have to read it over again. Galla reminded me so very much of myself at that age. Cagnati hits perfectly that tone of darkness laced with naivete and so much melodrama and frankness that it becomes humorous yet pitiable, often found in kids forced to grow up too fast and take on adult emotional (and other) responsibilities at a young age
I loved the setting of the book, a little escape to the countryside. And I loved the idea of being tainted by your context, of having your fate be decided by the aesthetics of your surroundings, the exploration of the idea of fate and misfortune and the aesthetics of class differences. I also found the way that family dynamics were explored to be interesting, as we hardly even meet the parents and so only have Galla's anecdotes and emotional storytelling to know them by. Overall we are very confined to Galla's inner life which corresponds to her isolation.
At times the short stoppy prose was tedious, but we are in the mind of a 14 year old, so I accept it.
recommend overall