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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked up this book for my A-Z challenge and never thought I would discover such a masterpiece! I had no idea what the story was about, the title isn’t very evocative but so simple: we follow Zorrie, a radium girl, along her life. This story was so calm and so poetic. The simplicity of the prose is a huge bonus, as it goes perfectly well with how I imagined Zorrie. It felt like reading her own words.
I highly recommend this short story. It can be a quick read but I think it is one of these perfect books to read slowly. Definitely a new favourite!
I highly recommend this short story. It can be a quick read but I think it is one of these perfect books to read slowly. Definitely a new favourite!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I was going to give this a four star, simply because I don’t think it comes near being truly novel. But from the expectations it sets at the start: Zorrie as a young girl in 1930s but actually an old woman remembering a whole life, there really isn’t any slip of craft to be had. I wasn’t even that keen on the premise or setting, and yet recognize it as an absolute command performance from a writer. There is near as can be said perfect prose work, pacing, and character work. Sentence-by-sentence, paragraph formulation, and setting.
It’s idyllic, bucolic, and indicative of the kind of life your grandmother would actually tell you. Complicated and naturally heartbreaking in the ways a simple life without systemic renderings whatsoever. The police man is a kind sheriff from town, who genuinely cares. The neighbour is literally your best friend. You reap and sow. Literally, all day long.
Life was complicated enough, it seems to say. And I can respect that. Nothing wrong with this kind of well-rendered myopic escapism. It knows exactly what it’s doing and executes it superlatively.
It’s idyllic, bucolic, and indicative of the kind of life your grandmother would actually tell you. Complicated and naturally heartbreaking in the ways a simple life without systemic renderings whatsoever. The police man is a kind sheriff from town, who genuinely cares. The neighbour is literally your best friend. You reap and sow. Literally, all day long.
Life was complicated enough, it seems to say. And I can respect that. Nothing wrong with this kind of well-rendered myopic escapism. It knows exactly what it’s doing and executes it superlatively.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Based on its small size, this is a book that you should easily fly through. While you could do that, it would be a shame and a bit of a waste. This book meanders slowly through Zorrie's life, with years flying by and at other times daily reminiscing. As you join Zorrie in her life, the beauty of the everyday shines through. What really spoke to me, and perhaps this is just because I recently lost a loved one, is the last chapter with Zorrie realizing her life is coming to an end: "[the world] was slipping straight out of her fingers, that its contours and particulars were falling away." Her acquaintance Ellie writes: "it seemed right and natural to slow down... The body was a beautiful mechanism, and part of the beauty lay in its precariousness, its finitude. Ellie thought mortality was a good thing, as it kept the earth and its wheel of wonders in true." (pg. 160) This was a very nice read; a bit of an escape from the current horrors of the world. Best enjoyed slowly with plenty of contemplation.
As light as it is sturdy somehow. I loved this one: from line to arc, it’s all so delicately made.