Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Homesick

Compared to other books I've read so far on the longlist, Homesick felt like a much quieter read, but I found a lot to like in here.

Homesick follows the relationship between two sisters - the older Amy and younger Zoe, the whose recurring illnesses means that the girls are home schooled. This is a novel with an interesting history, it has previously been published as a memoir of Jennifer's very real childhood - complete with photos; and has now been re-released as a novel. Having not read the memoir, I can't comment on how much has been fictionalised, but I found this look at growing up really affecting. Amy is naturally good at and interested in languages - creating a language to use to communicate with Zoe away from their parents, which Zoe is disinterested in. Through the means of ice skating, the girls become fascinated with Russia and Ukraine respectively, and their crushes on their language tutor Sasha is a turning point for their relationship.

As I said, a quieter more reflective entry on the Women's Prize longlist - I really liked this book which bought to mind previous reads like Educated. Would highlight that this book does feature self-harm and suicide which I hadn't seen mentioned elsewhere, and plays a pivotal role in the novel.

Content Warnings

helen_t_reads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

Sisters Amy and Zoe grow up in Oklahoma where they are homeschooled because Zoe has frequent seizures. Whilst Zoe’s childhood is dominated by medication, surgery and frequent hospital visits, Amy flourishes intellectually, and becomes an autodidact. Her flair for languages, a thirst for knowledge, and an inquisitiveness about the world offer her respite from her sister’s illness, and further distraction is provided when she develops unrequited feelings for Sasha, her Russian tutor. However, when Amy takes up a university place at only 15 her life changes drastically.

Amy’s passion is photography, and this novel is constructed like a series of snapshots or vignettes from her life: very short chapters with detailed headings reading like captions in a photo album. It is semi-autobiographical and interestingly the American edition contained a number of accompanying photos, which the English edition does not include (at the author’s request I believe?).

The length of this novel (219 pages) and its short chapters make this a very quick read.

It is a coming of age novel portraying both an intense sibling relationship, and Croft’s love of languages (she went on to forge a highly successful career as a translator). Given its title, there is also an interesting exploration of the nature and meaning of ‘homesick’ness: Zoe remains sick at home, whilst Amy goes off to University at a young age and clearly misses her home, and her sister, especially, descending into depression and self-harm.

There is an air of detachment about the narrative which dampens the possibility of a deep emotional connection, and its tone is quite childlike, but, as Amy ages, this fades. It has far more depth than its tone would initially suggest.

For me, part two, which comes quite late in the novel, was too rushed, but, overall it is a thought-provoking read - the kind that could well keep popping into your head once it is finished.

Content Warnings

amy_park's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

3.5

I read this book due to it being longlisted for the women's prize for fiction 2023, the premise intrigued me as I love books focusing on siblings. This book didn't dissapoint, it was heartbreaking and moving. I related to the relationship between Amy and Zoe, although I did find the third-person child perspective grating at times and was dissapointed the narrative voice didn't develop as Amy got older, overall I did enjoy. Topics covered were heartbreaking and not for the fainthearted, I would suggest reading content warnings prior to reading.

Shout out to Charco Press as I loved the quality of the bounding and paper used to create the novel, will definitely read more from the publisher in the future and also intend to read some of Jennifer's translated blacklist as well.

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eliodelio's review

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challenging emotional medium-paced

3.75

i think i went into this book expecting it to be a hopeful, inspiring memoir about someone with a difficult childhood finding her way to language and translation and travelling (three things i care about a lot) but its more of a semi-fictional account mostly only focused on her childhood up to the age of 15. it was well written and a touching story but in the end i felt like i would have wanted to read more about what happened afterwards. i was left feeling more melancholy than hopeful.
also, throughout the book she disperses photographs along with a letter to her sister, spread out a couple sentences at a time, and it kind of bothered me because i was so focused on the main narrative that every time one of those fragments came up i couldnt remember what the previous one had been and it was just annoying to get pulled out of the story to try to figure out what she was talking about in the letter.

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