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chloejoy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
libbymon's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide
joejoh's review against another edition
3.0
I'll start by saying that I understand why many contemporary novelists are fans of this novel. The family dynamics in this novel are so life-like, I felt like a fly on the wall who is observing a real dysfunctional family. That being said, the novel suffers from a lack of critical editing. It could easily have been cut to half the length without any loss of resonance or truth. Still, I recommend it to anyone that writes about family dynamics and any fan of novels centering around those dynamics. Just be prepared to work hard to make it through the overly drawn out center of the novel.
nick_jenkins's review against another edition
5.0
Truly magnificent, but a book that justifies the existence of trigger warnings (at least for people whose parents fought with one another constantly, were bad with money, and took everything out on their children).
mendelbot's review against another edition
2.0
Buried somewhere beneath the muddled prose, the off-kilter dialogue, and the repetitious plot is a good book. But the above three aspects overwhelm an otherwise decent novel of a dysfunctional family. Pages upon pages of the title character speaking a kind of pidgin English/baby talk. Scenes that run into and out of each other. A book that is probably about 200 pages too long. I get what the author was going for, I just don't like it. When it works, it works wonderfully, but it works only about thirty percent of the time. The rest of the time I was waiting for one of these annoyingly miserable characters to kill the rest.
helenajcassels's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bettyvd's review against another edition
1.0
Na twee hoofdstukken gestopt... 1940 is toch lang geleden. Iets voor academici?
rhaines46's review against another edition
it makes an impression, alright
an unpleasant aspect of this book which I don't see mentioned much in the reviews here is that the parents make racist and anti-Semitic comments at various points throughout the story. The characters in question are also objectionable in all sorts of other ways, of course, it's kind of the main driving force of the whole novel
The Man Who Loved Children accomplishes some very impressive feats which are described far, far better in the introduction by Randall Jarrell than I could achieve in my own words. The gist of it, though, is that the characters in this story have failings of both morals and manners that are both continually mortifying and utterly believable, and that these characters make up a family which is more believable still, with their in-jokes and their special language and their laughing cruelty. Louie, the oldest daughter, sees the grotesque side of her family more clearly than anyone else (except perhaps the mother, Henny) and she is the pinnacle of misunderstood adolescence... this kid would have made the absolute nastiest zines if she had just lived 80 years later
an unpleasant aspect of this book which I don't see mentioned much in the reviews here is that the parents make racist and anti-Semitic comments at various points throughout the story. The characters in question are also objectionable in all sorts of other ways, of course, it's kind of the main driving force of the whole novel
The Man Who Loved Children accomplishes some very impressive feats which are described far, far better in the introduction by Randall Jarrell than I could achieve in my own words. The gist of it, though, is that the characters in this story have failings of both morals and manners that are both continually mortifying and utterly believable, and that these characters make up a family which is more believable still, with their in-jokes and their special language and their laughing cruelty. Louie, the oldest daughter, sees the grotesque side of her family more clearly than anyone else (except perhaps the mother, Henny) and she is the pinnacle of misunderstood adolescence... this kid would have made the absolute nastiest zines if she had just lived 80 years later
booksinbedinthornhill's review against another edition
5.0
Not for everyone, but I don't think I'll ever forget Louie and her world.