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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A LOVELY AND MULTI-LAYERED STORY ON WHAT IT IS TO BE HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE WITH WHO YOU WERE BEFORE. SUCH A WELL WRITTEN STORY WITH MANY TURNS AND DECISIONS THAT MAKE YOU QUESTION A RESOLUTION FOR THE CHARACTERS. HONESTY AND LOVE AND SELF-REALIZATION ARE LEADING THEMES.
DOCKED DOWN BECAUSE THE PACING WAS CONFUSING.
DOCKED DOWN BECAUSE THE PACING WAS CONFUSING.
I enjoyed this book well enough but I found some of the strands of the plot strange and they felt like mere plot devices used to move the story along. Some parts of the backstory were clunkily inserted and disrupted the flow. I also didn't really warm to the characters and wondered what they saw in each other. Their relationships felt quite claustrophobic.
lighthearted
Maybe 3.5. Loved reading about one of my favorite neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Quick and fun read, but well written and smart.
Months later. Definitely 3.5. Maybe 4.
Months later. Definitely 3.5. Maybe 4.
I really enjoyed this book and found it very satisfying. But (crankily) I thought it was too satisfying. It felt like a bunt by someone really talented. I wondered why this book had been written, and whether there were any ideas behind it besides "the stakes are low for privileged people." I mean, I love Ditmas Park, and I've definitely wandered the adorable streets daydreaming about the lives of the people who lived there. The people I pictured were exactly the people in this book, so I get that, but why put in all the effort it must take to craft a well-structured novel just for the sake of an aimless daydream? I was intrigued by the main character, breezing along in her nice life, underutilizing her talent and her rage. Like Elizabeth, the book itself seemed to have a smarter, angrier self trapped under a heavily pleasing apparatus. What happens when these people stop being polite and start being real?
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to like this more, mostly because people are excited about Emma Straub, but it just felt like yet another book about growing old in Brooklyn. It certainly wasn't the worst book about mid-life crises (and also teenage love), but it didn't have that extra push that would have made it great. Might deserve more than three stars (probably three and a half?) but I also think that if I didn't live in NYC, it would have lost something.
reflective
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
slow-paced
Why was this book written? What was the point? Certainly not for entertainment, I was bored the whole time. Save yourself the trouble. It’s trivial writing with no ending.