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siebensommer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I am so drawn to difficult things. I am always travelling far away from the people I love. I am constantly searching for something that I cannot articulate, uprooting and disappearing based on an abstract feeling in the pit of my belly.
What if it was not the right thing to leave London? What if
this is not the right way to live? Perhaps it is better to want
tangible things, like bodies and objects. Everything I want is
invisible. Do invisible things have worth?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Sexual content
cecilialau_'s review against another edition
3.5
This was not the type of novel I expected so I needed a minute to get into it to be honest.
It is split into four parts and we follow Lucy as she switches narratives between living her life in the present and to growing up, and her relationship with her mother is at the fore and core.
- And it has grown on me since the initial reaction/surprise (and I’m glad I read it btw).
My favourite part - of these diary-esque vignettes if that’s even a thing - was the “current setup” in Ireland. Overall I found the book honest, meaningful, sweet and layered.
Also, credit where credit’s due, and maybe I’ll reread this one day to get a better feel of it, the fracturing, moving and changing mother-daughter relationship and dynamic is a strong trope in this book. The ambivalence and heartbreak of it is pretty tangible and very much relevant and relatable and carries the story forward in how this new crossroads is still heavy with the mix of a want and need and a letting go. If that makes sense…
It is split into four parts and we follow Lucy as she switches narratives between living her life in the present and to growing up, and her relationship with her mother is at the fore and core.
- And it has grown on me since the initial reaction/surprise (and I’m glad I read it btw).
My favourite part - of these diary-esque vignettes if that’s even a thing - was the “current setup” in Ireland. Overall I found the book honest, meaningful, sweet and layered.
Also, credit where credit’s due, and maybe I’ll reread this one day to get a better feel of it, the fracturing, moving and changing mother-daughter relationship and dynamic is a strong trope in this book. The ambivalence and heartbreak of it is pretty tangible and very much relevant and relatable and carries the story forward in how this new crossroads is still heavy with the mix of a want and need and a letting go. If that makes sense…
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Abandonment, Grief, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Violence, Addiction, Self harm, and Rape
isaarusilor's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Self harm and Rape
Minor: Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
bxcvi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Death and Drug use
Minor: Rape and Blood
jlharding's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
writtenontheflyleaves's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Saltwater by Jessica Andrews 🌆
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🌆 The plot: To Lucy, London always seemed like the promised land. After growing up in Sunderland and the shadow of her father’s alcoholism, the city seems suffused with glamour and promise: conversations to be had, gigs to attend, people to meet. But after studying in the city for three years, Lucy finds herself exhausted. After graduating, she flees to her late grandfather’s cottage in a remote part of Donegal, where she reflects on growing up and growing out of your old dreams.
I wasn’t sure if this book was for me at first. It’s that particular kind of literary fiction that seems to skim along the surface of events, collecting only scattered poignant details, rather than digging down into actual scenes. It reminded me of a cross between Bluets by Maggie Nelson and The Outrun by Amy Liptrot, told in short vignettes and flicking between harsh urban scenes and wild nature. It’s beautiful, but I wasn’t sure it would give me the immediacy I wanted.
Safe to say it won me over though. While Andrews moves through scenes very fluidly, her descriptions are visceral and sensory. They place you bodily into the environments Lucy and her family move through and you come away with dirt under your fingernails - the smokiness of her granddad’s garden after a bonfire, the grit of a school playground in a skinned knee. I especially loved her descriptions of Lucy’s teenage years, the vulnerability and exhilaration of navigating a new body and the attention that comes with it, whether invited, uninvited, or somewhere in between.
🌆 Read it if you love memoirs (this is autobiographical fiction, but it reads like a memoir), and particularly Bluets or The Outrun. Also if you love university novels and mother-daughter narratives, as those are big themes.
🚫 Avoid it if you hate very “lyrical” literary fiction and prefer your prose to feel more grounded. Also if you’re sensitive to depictions of alcoholism, sexual assault, and ableism (specifically against d/Deaf people, as the protagonist’s brother is deaf).
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🌆 The plot: To Lucy, London always seemed like the promised land. After growing up in Sunderland and the shadow of her father’s alcoholism, the city seems suffused with glamour and promise: conversations to be had, gigs to attend, people to meet. But after studying in the city for three years, Lucy finds herself exhausted. After graduating, she flees to her late grandfather’s cottage in a remote part of Donegal, where she reflects on growing up and growing out of your old dreams.
I wasn’t sure if this book was for me at first. It’s that particular kind of literary fiction that seems to skim along the surface of events, collecting only scattered poignant details, rather than digging down into actual scenes. It reminded me of a cross between Bluets by Maggie Nelson and The Outrun by Amy Liptrot, told in short vignettes and flicking between harsh urban scenes and wild nature. It’s beautiful, but I wasn’t sure it would give me the immediacy I wanted.
Safe to say it won me over though. While Andrews moves through scenes very fluidly, her descriptions are visceral and sensory. They place you bodily into the environments Lucy and her family move through and you come away with dirt under your fingernails - the smokiness of her granddad’s garden after a bonfire, the grit of a school playground in a skinned knee. I especially loved her descriptions of Lucy’s teenage years, the vulnerability and exhilaration of navigating a new body and the attention that comes with it, whether invited, uninvited, or somewhere in between.
🌆 Read it if you love memoirs (this is autobiographical fiction, but it reads like a memoir), and particularly Bluets or The Outrun. Also if you love university novels and mother-daughter narratives, as those are big themes.
🚫 Avoid it if you hate very “lyrical” literary fiction and prefer your prose to feel more grounded. Also if you’re sensitive to depictions of alcoholism, sexual assault, and ableism (specifically against d/Deaf people, as the protagonist’s brother is deaf).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Alcoholism, and Blood
Minor: Mental illness and Rape
stjernetjern's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse
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