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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
an inconsistent five-star read for me…slow going in parts but there were some passages that just touched my soul
Ms. Gornick is wonderful at detailing small interactions with strangers on the city streets. I think my favorite exchange was with the man yelling about having four "uncurable diseases" and how she taps him and corrects him with "the word is incurable" and he returns with "who the fuck asked you?"
(This is also the third book I've read this month that discusses Walter Benjamin and the flaneur)
(This is also the third book I've read this month that discusses Walter Benjamin and the flaneur)
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Me encantó este libro. Me gusta mucho cómo escribe Vivian Gornick, esa capacidad que tiene de mostrarte escenas de su ciudad, Nueva York, que describen a una sociedad en sus distintos momentos, conectándolo con lo que le pasa en su vida personal. Sus reflexiones son muy interesantes. Recomendable lectura para soportar más esta ciudad intensa y caótica.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
The Odd Woman and the City is a fragmentary memoir exploring aspects of the author's life in New York City. A lot of it is scaffolded around weekly walks she takes with her friend Leonard, as well as people and things she has seen on her own walks. Themes like loneliness and aging are explored alongside musings on friendship and living in a big city. I liked catching a hint of the flavour of New York, particularly the West Side, and enjoyed some of the writing and commentary. But there wasn't really a strong narrative arc, and the book felt a little formless or purposeless to me. That's possibly appropriate for a book about a flaneur, but it left me feeling a little dissatisfied. It's clear that the author is independent and strong-minded, but also that I disagree with her on several things. Her comments about a disabled boy she saw on public transport may have been honest, but they left me feeling queasy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Xenophobia
Some lines brought me so much but overall I felt this book had neither a dynamic flow nor confident intention to it. This left me feeling a bit unsure of why I was reading it and overall the rare gem sentences were not enough to bring me out of that meandering haze. I guess you could argue that’s the point of the book but I’ve read others of the same style that strike a much stronger balance.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Wow wow wow I did not like this at all! I'm sorry Vivian Gornick I tried my best!