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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
I’m trying to find books that I connect with similar to how I connected to A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler. There is nothing wrong with this book it just doesn’t have that special something.
This book is 161 pages and it had me crying about every 20. Absolutely beautiful, planning to read again.
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-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
"She had the flu one year, three colds the next, and then wasn't sick the following two" (79).
It seems so simple, but I love the various way the author passes time in this story. Additionally, and more importantly, his writing is poignant and beautiful - up there with the best of the melancholy. Initially, the writing felt sweet and simple, though not necessarily moving, but then chapter IV hits and his descriptions are breathtaking. How does writing from the same author in the same book make such a drastic shift?
Zorrie's vulnerability and strength are endearing, as is the way she cares about the people in her life, even her aunt who "had been wildly deficient as a maternal substitute" (136). It's a special thing to get to know a life story, even one that's fictional; it gives the reader an opportunity to contemplate his or her own life and the moments and people that matter.
I appreciate the inclusion of the Radium Girls as well. I love when an author takes a small, possibly not widely known, piece of history and weaves it through an entire story: "...the plant where they had sucked on candy and painted their clock faces and pointed their brushes and blown kisses at their future doom..." (90).
It seems so simple, but I love the various way the author passes time in this story. Additionally, and more importantly, his writing is poignant and beautiful - up there with the best of the melancholy. Initially, the writing felt sweet and simple, though not necessarily moving, but then chapter IV hits and his descriptions are breathtaking. How does writing from the same author in the same book make such a drastic shift?
Zorrie's vulnerability and strength are endearing, as is the way she cares about the people in her life, even her aunt who "had been wildly deficient as a maternal substitute" (136). It's a special thing to get to know a life story, even one that's fictional; it gives the reader an opportunity to contemplate his or her own life and the moments and people that matter.
I appreciate the inclusion of the Radium Girls as well. I love when an author takes a small, possibly not widely known, piece of history and weaves it through an entire story: "...the plant where they had sucked on candy and painted their clock faces and pointed their brushes and blown kisses at their future doom..." (90).
Beautiful, delikate, frigile. Lyrical. There is no right way to talk about this book. You have to read it and feel it.
Enjoy
Enjoy
inspiring
reflective
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
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a beautifully written short novel about the life of a kind woman who suffered a good amount of loss and hardship over the years. As an old woman, Zorrie visits the Anne Frank Museum and purchases a copy of her diary there. She contemplates how much wonder Anne was able to appreciate in her short life and in her confinement. Zorrie wonders how that compares to the long life she’s led, at the end of which she feels she’s merely going through the motions.
This book follows Zorrie’s whole life after her parents and aunt’s passing, growing up and finding her footing in the world.
Basically the best thing about this was that it was short. I love books about basically nothing, but this REALLY was about nothing, and the only redeeming factor was the writing (kind of). There were some really nice passages throughout, but not nearly enough to make this super enjoyable.
The thing was, there was so many randomly vague lines to just move the story forward, in the literal sense of just years passing, and no actual character progression or anything. I felt super disconnected to Zorrie and that might have come from the story being written in the third person, but I couldn’t connect at ALL. I honestly just pushed through because there are only 160 pages, and I was hoping for something (ANYTHING) to redeem the book, but I was just kind of bored.
I do think that this book has its audience though. Maybe I disliked it because I read a good book before and was still trying to ride that high, but if you like no plot stories spanning someone’s life, this could be a hit for you.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Basically the best thing about this was that it was short. I love books about basically nothing, but this REALLY was about nothing, and the only redeeming factor was the writing (kind of). There were some really nice passages throughout, but not nearly enough to make this super enjoyable.
The thing was, there was so many randomly vague lines to just move the story forward, in the literal sense of just years passing, and no actual character progression or anything. I felt super disconnected to Zorrie and that might have come from the story being written in the third person, but I couldn’t connect at ALL. I honestly just pushed through because there are only 160 pages, and I was hoping for something (ANYTHING) to redeem the book, but I was just kind of bored.
I do think that this book has its audience though. Maybe I disliked it because I read a good book before and was still trying to ride that high, but if you like no plot stories spanning someone’s life, this could be a hit for you.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️