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hazy_amber's review
2.0
I was provided ARC by NetGalley and McClelland & Stewart in exchange for my honest review.
I loved My Dark Vanessa, so obviously when i saw the mention of it, i had to at least see the description. I know that publishers these days try to stir readers’ choices by mentioning other successful books that are oftentimes just tangentially related, so i wasn’t really expecting anything “just like My Dark Vanessa”.
Besides, the premise in itself promised to have its own merit so i didn’t even want anything of the kind. That description gave so much promise in itself.
Unfortunately the book didn’t deliver on that promise. The whole book you are expecting something, and then boom, book is over and there is nothing. You’d think that after excruciatingly long description of eggs and toasts you will get at least half such attention to more important pieces of the story but no, it’s easy enough to blink and miss it.
Some authors manage to achieve perfect flow with seemingly boring minutiae of everyday life, but unfortunately it didn’t happen for this book.
I don’t feel for any of the characters, noone felt like real people for me, especially so Hillary, who is not only the main character but also is the narrator. You’d think more attachment would develop through first person narrative but no. So all in all, it was a very promising premise that just didn’t come to life in any satisfactory fashion.
I loved My Dark Vanessa, so obviously when i saw the mention of it, i had to at least see the description. I know that publishers these days try to stir readers’ choices by mentioning other successful books that are oftentimes just tangentially related, so i wasn’t really expecting anything “just like My Dark Vanessa”.
Besides, the premise in itself promised to have its own merit so i didn’t even want anything of the kind. That description gave so much promise in itself.
Unfortunately the book didn’t deliver on that promise. The whole book you are expecting something, and then boom, book is over and there is nothing. You’d think that after excruciatingly long description of eggs and toasts you will get at least half such attention to more important pieces of the story but no, it’s easy enough to blink and miss it.
Some authors manage to achieve perfect flow with seemingly boring minutiae of everyday life, but unfortunately it didn’t happen for this book.
I don’t feel for any of the characters, noone felt like real people for me, especially so Hillary, who is not only the main character but also is the narrator. You’d think more attachment would develop through first person narrative but no. So all in all, it was a very promising premise that just didn’t come to life in any satisfactory fashion.
krissysreading's review
4.0
I initially was interested in this book because it was being compared to My Dark Vanessa, which is a novel that sicks with me to this day. I think having that comparison does a disservice to anyone reading this novel, and the novel itself. The focus is not so much on the crime or even the person who did irreparable damage to another human being. It is really an exploration of a person who was ignorant to events surrounding the lives of her family, and confronting those events later in life. Hillary gives up a lot in her life to take care of her aged father, who is going through dementia/alzheimer's . She agrees to ghost write his memoir, and in doing so goes through his past, and has the moral dilemma of how much to reveal. Whether to expose the terrible things he did or just enough to maintain his image.
The writing style of this book took some getting used to, but I ended up really connecting to Hillary's voice and point of view. If you would like to explore what it feels like to love and care for someone who is not worthy of it, I would highly recommend reading this novel.
The writing style of this book took some getting used to, but I ended up really connecting to Hillary's voice and point of view. If you would like to explore what it feels like to love and care for someone who is not worthy of it, I would highly recommend reading this novel.
leekaufman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Sexual violence
araskov's review
3.0
The writing style is dark and looming, giving you glimpses of darkness and disturbed thoughts and memories from a broken main character.
Throughout the entire book, I could feel her trauma seeping through despite her having the least harmful past of her family.
I felt disturbed, but wanted justice and wanted to know what happened to our main character's sister. The ending left me in a position to make assumptions, which felt uncomfortable to do as I felt I didn't have the closure I needed.
Throughout the entire book, I could feel her trauma seeping through despite her having the least harmful past of her family.
I felt disturbed, but wanted justice and wanted to know what happened to our main character's sister. The ending left me in a position to make assumptions, which felt uncomfortable to do as I felt I didn't have the closure I needed.