Reviews

ca și cum nimic nu s-ar fi întâmplat by Alina Nelega

brisingr's review against another edition

2.0

Păi e timpul să îmi pun un nas de clovn, că aparent sunt singura persoană căreia *nu* i-a plăcut această carte. Offf...

ramramyum's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

savciuc's review

5.0

"În lumea asta oamenii se iubesc, merg la petreceri, fac muzică, se nasc, se bucură și se ucid, se despart de cerul înstelat, scriu cărți și semnează tratate, decid soarta popoarelor și cred că ei susțin universul, dar habar n-au că de fapt tot cerul ăsta greu și înstelat se sprijină pe privirile celor ca ea, altfel s-ar prăbuși peste noi și praf ne-ar face."

drkng31's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

roxanaosman's review

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

ana_r_vd's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

gabi_c4h10's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

this book hurt me so much it made me want to write my first ever book review, just to get everything off my chest. i'm fortunate enough to not have lived in romania during the communist era, but alina nelega made me feel connected to every (queer) woman who had to go through that nightmare. her writing was so surprising for me, it's a never-ending stream of consciousness who might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it makes so much damn sense, because one's thoughts were the only thing that one could hide from the outside world and the secret police, so why stop them? the story fit disgustingly well with what my parents have told me; the atmosphere nelega conveyed so well was perpetually grey. i never felt relaxed while reading, because of the overarching sense of danger and being watched. i had to stop reading several times just to be grateful that i hadn't been born 15 years earlier. even when she was not speaking of traumatic events, everything had the potential to be traumatic. and it was, but not in an unnecessary way -- everything that this story had to tell was necessary, every single word detailing what people ate (which hit close to home and reflected the state of the world way too well) and what their houses looked like (the dirty, grey apartment buildings i see everytime i go home and that will probably be the last things standing at the end of the world) and what their customs were and what they had to be scared of every day, at school and at work and at home and in the train and at the beach and at the theatre. in just a bit over 400 pages, i felt like i could understand what every romanian during that time was going through (and not just romanians, shout out to all the hungarians and the random dutch guy who cemented the fact that wlw/mlm solidarity has always existed), even though the story is focused on such specific characters. she told a story of 10 years, from a girl finishing high school to a woman left behind by everything and everyone. the only thing that bugs me is that the two main characters remained broken up and it didn't make sense, and i'm a bit disappointed by nelega's choice not to include details of what the 1989 revolution looked like at the end, but this does makes sense. this is not a story of hope; it's a story of struggle. and why write about the event that marked the "end" of communism, when its legacy is still very much present?

ghilimei's review

challenging

4.0

froggin_around_'s review against another edition

4.0

foarte bine scrisă, dar tot timpul am avut senzația că îi lipsește ceva

wenathechick's review

5.0

fix in moalele capului m a lovit cartea asta