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kaelynreads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
emilyhcox's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was immediately drawn in by the frantic, uproarious prose. Distinct, uninhibited voice. But the text mirrors the protaganist’s obsessive, cyclical thinking, which started to drag midway through the book. The protag ranges from unhinged to insightful. Sometimes she’s a nightmare; sometimes she’s so relatable. Very much a novel of ideas and of character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma
ashlynmil's review
3.0
Thank you to Avid Reader Press for sending me a copy of Human Blues and some funky stickers in a PR package!
Aviva Rosner is a musician, friend, daughter, sister, wife, yogi, and Instagram enthusiast who is desperately passionate about two things: motherhood and Amy Winehouse. And what do motherhood and Amy Winehouse have in common? The general popular opinion of people: motherhood is good, Amy is bad. Everybody only talks about what they think everyone else wants to hear, but Aviva always remains true to herself. She wants a baby so badly, but she won’t have a baby forced by fertility technology.
This was a fun, quirky read for me! I was thrown right into Aviva’s head, and I enjoyed the run-on thoughts and italics to demonstrate passion and/or dramatics. I was absolutely over the italics while Aviva’s mother, Barb, was speaking, but I realized Aviva was over it too. There were also a few spelling/grammatical errors.
Aviva Rosner is a musician, friend, daughter, sister, wife, yogi, and Instagram enthusiast who is desperately passionate about two things: motherhood and Amy Winehouse. And what do motherhood and Amy Winehouse have in common? The general popular opinion of people: motherhood is good, Amy is bad. Everybody only talks about what they think everyone else wants to hear, but Aviva always remains true to herself. She wants a baby so badly, but she won’t have a baby forced by fertility technology.
This was a fun, quirky read for me! I was thrown right into Aviva’s head, and I enjoyed the run-on thoughts and italics to demonstrate passion and/or dramatics. I was absolutely over the italics while Aviva’s mother, Barb, was speaking, but I realized Aviva was over it too. There were also a few spelling/grammatical errors.
sarahweiss's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
ashley__reads's review
5.0
4.5, rounded up for goodreads.
Human Blues follows Aviva, an Amy Winehouse-esque musician who is struggling to conceive a baby naturally. After dropping her fourth album, Womb Service is released, her story is told over the course of nine menstrual cycles - her struggles with infertility, the fights with her own inner demons and the unusual way she handles being semi-famous.
Aviva’s quick witted sarcasm and views on what she claims is “unnatural” conception may turn you off from the character, but I absolutely loved her. An unreliable narrative from the beginning, her stories (true or not) will reach into your chest and clench your heart, disgust you and make you feel a connection to the character you wouldn’t expect. I will absolutely be revisiting this book in the future.
And of course, I listened to Amy throughout reading this entire book.
Human Blues follows Aviva, an Amy Winehouse-esque musician who is struggling to conceive a baby naturally. After dropping her fourth album, Womb Service is released, her story is told over the course of nine menstrual cycles - her struggles with infertility, the fights with her own inner demons and the unusual way she handles being semi-famous.
Aviva’s quick witted sarcasm and views on what she claims is “unnatural” conception may turn you off from the character, but I absolutely loved her. An unreliable narrative from the beginning, her stories (true or not) will reach into your chest and clench your heart, disgust you and make you feel a connection to the character you wouldn’t expect. I will absolutely be revisiting this book in the future.
And of course, I listened to Amy throughout reading this entire book.
adelineania's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Grief
Minor: Eating disorder and Self harm
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