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writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
3.75
Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane 🧳
🌟🌟🌟✨
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👒 The plot: May has been in a rut lately. Mourning the death of her mother and having been recently awarded a month of leave by the university where she works as a landscaper, she sets off to visit each of her closest friends to see what their lives are like. She muses a lot about trees and friendship, and of course the etiquette involved in holidaying in someone else’s life.
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This was a novel I was very excited about - a story that focuses primarily on female friendships? Sign me up!! - but I’m not sure whether it fully delivered.
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The first two thirds of the novel were quiet and slow-moving. May is analytical and contemplative; she is not hugely social. She’s at her most enthusiastic talking about trees, and there seems to be a gulf between her and the friends she visits. She’s like a friend who you know hates hugs but you can’t help but feel really needs one?? I was plodding along not having the time of my life but not having a bad time either.
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Then came the final third. For me, this is where the novel revealed itself - it made you look back at what you’d already read and recognise the intricate architecture of the story, the way the themes accumulated into something quite beautiful. There were moments of clarity about friendships and grief; May visits her best friend and an ancient tree. I finished it feeling that it was perfectly constructed, perfectly designed to be exactly what it was - but that the perfect version of itself wasn’t as bold as I’d have liked it to be. I guess I’d have wanted it to take bigger swings, even if there were a few misses.
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🌳 Read it if you liked Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine but want more of a literary fiction vibe.
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🚫 Avoid it if you aren’t reading about parental death or depression right now or if you are frustrated by slightly crotchety or antisocial narrators. Or if you’d hate reading tangents about trees!
🌟🌟🌟✨
-
👒 The plot: May has been in a rut lately. Mourning the death of her mother and having been recently awarded a month of leave by the university where she works as a landscaper, she sets off to visit each of her closest friends to see what their lives are like. She muses a lot about trees and friendship, and of course the etiquette involved in holidaying in someone else’s life.
-
This was a novel I was very excited about - a story that focuses primarily on female friendships? Sign me up!! - but I’m not sure whether it fully delivered.
-
The first two thirds of the novel were quiet and slow-moving. May is analytical and contemplative; she is not hugely social. She’s at her most enthusiastic talking about trees, and there seems to be a gulf between her and the friends she visits. She’s like a friend who you know hates hugs but you can’t help but feel really needs one?? I was plodding along not having the time of my life but not having a bad time either.
-
Then came the final third. For me, this is where the novel revealed itself - it made you look back at what you’d already read and recognise the intricate architecture of the story, the way the themes accumulated into something quite beautiful. There were moments of clarity about friendships and grief; May visits her best friend and an ancient tree. I finished it feeling that it was perfectly constructed, perfectly designed to be exactly what it was - but that the perfect version of itself wasn’t as bold as I’d have liked it to be. I guess I’d have wanted it to take bigger swings, even if there were a few misses.
-
🌳 Read it if you liked Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine but want more of a literary fiction vibe.
-
🚫 Avoid it if you aren’t reading about parental death or depression right now or if you are frustrated by slightly crotchety or antisocial narrators. Or if you’d hate reading tangents about trees!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Mental illness, and Terminal illness
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