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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Someone tell me why this has such high reviews… please! Slow. Goes no where.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I became less engaged the more I read. It was more like 4 short stories in first person memoir style that I thought originally were more unified in scope, but then layering timeline stopped being interesting to me so it was hard to care about the characters by the end. I feel like the last section was supposed to be eye opening and a poignant counter flavor to previous stories, but because I was already less engaged it just disjointed and a slog to finish. Competent writing, I just failed to stay engaged.
Very good prose. Ida’s plot felt a little thin/weak to me and some of the author’s risks in the book’s structure pay off better than others. Didn’t live all the way up to the hype for me but it got close.
Spoiler
i won’t lie, some parts of this were just excruciatingly boring. i do not care for finance and so much dialogue could have been skipped. that said: this is a mildred bevel stan account, what a woman. the reveals towards the end paid off and i was desperate to hear her voice - glad to have been able to but goddddd i was dragging myself through some of ida’s part. love that really the women were the stars of the show #yippee but i won’t read this again and meh. it was sat on my bookshelf for ages i’m glad i finally read it but meh
What I love about this novel is how Diaz deconstructs the way we expect a novel to unfold. His central character, Ida, doesn’t appear until halfway through the book, but her appearance anchors the disparate narratives that come before it. The ending is beautiful and haunting, and cements our impression that the truth is chosen by survivors.
The construction of this novel is no less than brilliant. Diaz toys with our perceptions throughout, lifting curtains along the way until we begin to see a picture emerge from a puzzle. This is a book about control, self-preservation, and the muddy bog that lies between history and truth. Loved it.
The construction of this novel is no less than brilliant. Diaz toys with our perceptions throughout, lifting curtains along the way until we begin to see a picture emerge from a puzzle. This is a book about control, self-preservation, and the muddy bog that lies between history and truth. Loved it.
A novel that's four books within one book and while that might make it sound complicated, it isn’t. Each of the four books is about a husband and wife in New York during the early twentieth century. And each book, despite being about the same couple, tells a very different story depending on whose perspective we’re seeing the characters through. It’s very clever and I really enjoyed it. It's mostly about storytelling and how we construct novels out of lives, as well as how women get reshaped and reduced by history and narrative, which is obviously a theme I’m drawn to!
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to give this 5 stars and the only reason I didn’t was because, frankly, the content / story itself was not that interesting. BUT. The writing was so fluid, the different styles were so tangible, and the F*Cking ending was one of those where my jaw was dropped the whole chapter but I was also like whyyyyyy did I not see that coming. Of course. Really beautifully written, glad I read it, fascinating characters and story structure with competing narratives. I’d recommend honestly!!!
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes