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booklvrkat's review against another edition
2.0
I feel like I dropped into a manic nightmare with this story. It felt like it started in the middle, and the ending made no sense to me. The imagery is amazing, the detail in which the author puts us in this state is just *wow*. I couldn't start another book when I finished this one because I was still involved in the book, trying to figure it out, wanting to run until I was out of breath from it. I thought it would be more.
Thank you to NetGalley & The Overlook Press
Thank you to NetGalley & The Overlook Press
ltzreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
13rebecca13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I don't like giving low ratings but I just don't think this book was for me.
Our unnamed protagonist is a mother of two, toddler E and baby B and married to M. We never find out their names. They move to Geneva as M gets a job there but he is away a lot. She is left with her two children in a country she isn't familiar with, she doesn't speak the language well and must keep her children happy and occupied day in, day out.
This is written in a very chaotic way. We get inside her head and can see her spiralling. I understand why it was written this way but I personally didn't gel with it. I completely appreciate how she felt; isolated, lonely, and the author really helps us to feel the way she does.
The premise of the book is great, I don't think I have ever read a book like this one.
Our unnamed protagonist is a mother of two, toddler E and baby B and married to M. We never find out their names. They move to Geneva as M gets a job there but he is away a lot. She is left with her two children in a country she isn't familiar with, she doesn't speak the language well and must keep her children happy and occupied day in, day out.
This is written in a very chaotic way. We get inside her head and can see her spiralling. I understand why it was written this way but I personally didn't gel with it. I completely appreciate how she felt; isolated, lonely, and the author really helps us to feel the way she does.
The premise of the book is great, I don't think I have ever read a book like this one.
mazza57's review against another edition
5.0
I received a copy of this book from Pan Macmillan via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. At this moment in time having just finished it my mind is just going WOW and wondering how to review the book. I have had some serious blah books lately but this has just washed away all the boredom associated with them.
We never get to know the names of the main character, her husband and children are referred to merely in initials; in fact very few of the characters in the book are named. This give it a a cadence of it own, abrupt and abbreviated narrative just adds to that (can i say here I don't feel as if i am using the right words) Our MC has moved to Switzerland with her husband for his career. As he becomes increasingly busy - with work or maybe not - we see her spiral downwards into what may be post natal depression or some deeper psychosis. Every corner holds some fear for her she is only able to live on the most basic of levels, sometimes not even that. As the book progresses the storyline splits between her home and a place of detention, who is in this place and why is never explicitly stated although this reader made several guesses and indeed changed her mind from time to time.
I think the beauty of this book is not in what it says but in what it holds beneath the surface of those words and what the reader can see through the lines. I felt a creeping fear or dread as I read this almost in one sitting and when the phone rang with just a few pages to go I was more than ruffled to have to put it down.
What a fabulous debut I want more from this author
We never get to know the names of the main character, her husband and children are referred to merely in initials; in fact very few of the characters in the book are named. This give it a a cadence of it own, abrupt and abbreviated narrative just adds to that (can i say here I don't feel as if i am using the right words) Our MC has moved to Switzerland with her husband for his career. As he becomes increasingly busy - with work or maybe not - we see her spiral downwards into what may be post natal depression or some deeper psychosis. Every corner holds some fear for her she is only able to live on the most basic of levels, sometimes not even that. As the book progresses the storyline splits between her home and a place of detention, who is in this place and why is never explicitly stated although this reader made several guesses and indeed changed her mind from time to time.
I think the beauty of this book is not in what it says but in what it holds beneath the surface of those words and what the reader can see through the lines. I felt a creeping fear or dread as I read this almost in one sitting and when the phone rang with just a few pages to go I was more than ruffled to have to put it down.
What a fabulous debut I want more from this author
sarahreadsinin's review against another edition
2.0
This was an interesting premise but I feel that it was not executed well.
A woman moves to Switzerland with her husband and two young children. Her husband, stressed and busy with the responsibilities of his new job, leaves her alone more and more. With no one around to talk with or get support from, she begins exhibiting more and more signs of mental illness.
I was interested in the narrator, in how she viewed the world, and her life in general. Unfortunately because the book is written entirely from her point of view, you don’t know what is real and what is part of her illness. We also learn the names of minor characters- the boss, the assistant- but never the narrator or her family. That is a style that some readers prefer but it drove me nuts.
This review is longer than most of my positive reviews, because I feel as though the bones of a good book are there but the style was not a good fit for me.
A woman moves to Switzerland with her husband and two young children. Her husband, stressed and busy with the responsibilities of his new job, leaves her alone more and more. With no one around to talk with or get support from, she begins exhibiting more and more signs of mental illness.
I was interested in the narrator, in how she viewed the world, and her life in general. Unfortunately because the book is written entirely from her point of view, you don’t know what is real and what is part of her illness. We also learn the names of minor characters- the boss, the assistant- but never the narrator or her family. That is a style that some readers prefer but it drove me nuts.
This review is longer than most of my positive reviews, because I feel as though the bones of a good book are there but the style was not a good fit for me.
fillmoretimereading's review against another edition
1.0
It was incredibly difficult to even read the book with the amount of unnecessary words and descriptions of things in between. The author chose to use letters in place of names and it made it difficult to keep track of people. The story was okay but it really needs an overhaul..
cberland's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A riveting look at someone's mind as their life descends into chaos. The isolation and sense of claustrophobia was poignantly written.
angelajzhu's review against another edition
4.0
This book is such an important, subtle illustration of a young mother's mental health decline after moving to Switzerland for her husband's job. The visceral descriptions were almost difficult to read at times, but the stream of consciousness writing style made it feel more matter-of-fact and less emotionally wrought despite the reader knowing that there is so much turmoil going on below the surface. The protagonist's numbness at almost everything also felt so vivid and real. This was truly uncomfortable to read at times, but I applaud [a:Kyra Wilder|18528088|Kyra Wilder|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] for such a beautiful and subtle debut novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!
crodriguez1010's review against another edition
4.0
Slow burn. Sad to read about a mother's declining mental health with no way out.
faysieh's review against another edition
4.0
Let me start by saying that in many ways this book deserves 5 stars because it is an extremely well written and deeply disturbing account of one mother's inexorable slide into madness. It is like nothing I have ever read before.
The reason I only awarded the book 4 stars is for two reasons. Firstly, I think that this is a book that will not attract universal appeal and secondly because I was so distraught reading Little Bandaged Days that it was hardly an enjoyable experience. We don't always read for pleasure, and a book is more likely to have a lasting impact if the contents allow the reader to reflect upon their experiences or own belief system, but personally I have far too vivid an imagination not to have been scared by what I read.
Apparently, (reading the blurb), the mother's name is Erika but I don't once remember reading this detail. What I do remember is that the narrator's family have no names other than the initial letters prescribed to them. M is the husband and father, E the very young girl and B the baby. This in itself is original, perfectly fitting for the story, and adds to the alarming sense of losing one's mind. It speaks of being detached and lost in a crowded room. It perpetuates the loneliness and the panic that had me gulping for air.
Our unknown mother has moved to Switzerland for M to spend long, long hours, nights and days and weeks away in some high flying job whilst she is stuck in a small apartment looking after the two children and struggling to retain a sense of identity beyond the person who feeds, cooks, cleans, plays, entertains, nurses and worries about being good enough.
The pressure builds and the stream of internal thought becomes a frightening torrent, leaving me breathless and anxious and altogether horrified. There are days and times when she seems OK, but then there are increasing episodes of obsessive compulsive behaviour and paranoia, psychosis and self-harm.
I am not even sure if I understood all of the book. Was Nell real, or part of her? The sections in italics refer to a time and place that seems brutal and draconian, a desolate place of punishment designed to masquerade as treatment. So many hints of a criminal case and yet the ending, just as brutal, leads nowhere. It was as if I had fallen into an emotional abyss with no way back to my fellow humans.
This novel is not for the faint-hearted or emotionally fragile. It is intense, relentless and a beautiful-but-terrifying exploration of what happens when reality blurs to the extent that it disappears.
An exceptional achievement by the author but a read I would find hard to pick up again.
Thank to Kyra Wilder, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review.
The reason I only awarded the book 4 stars is for two reasons. Firstly, I think that this is a book that will not attract universal appeal and secondly because I was so distraught reading Little Bandaged Days that it was hardly an enjoyable experience. We don't always read for pleasure, and a book is more likely to have a lasting impact if the contents allow the reader to reflect upon their experiences or own belief system, but personally I have far too vivid an imagination not to have been scared by what I read.
Apparently, (reading the blurb), the mother's name is Erika but I don't once remember reading this detail. What I do remember is that the narrator's family have no names other than the initial letters prescribed to them. M is the husband and father, E the very young girl and B the baby. This in itself is original, perfectly fitting for the story, and adds to the alarming sense of losing one's mind. It speaks of being detached and lost in a crowded room. It perpetuates the loneliness and the panic that had me gulping for air.
Our unknown mother has moved to Switzerland for M to spend long, long hours, nights and days and weeks away in some high flying job whilst she is stuck in a small apartment looking after the two children and struggling to retain a sense of identity beyond the person who feeds, cooks, cleans, plays, entertains, nurses and worries about being good enough.
The pressure builds and the stream of internal thought becomes a frightening torrent, leaving me breathless and anxious and altogether horrified. There are days and times when she seems OK, but then there are increasing episodes of obsessive compulsive behaviour and paranoia, psychosis and self-harm.
I am not even sure if I understood all of the book. Was Nell real, or part of her? The sections in italics refer to a time and place that seems brutal and draconian, a desolate place of punishment designed to masquerade as treatment. So many hints of a criminal case and yet the ending, just as brutal, leads nowhere. It was as if I had fallen into an emotional abyss with no way back to my fellow humans.
This novel is not for the faint-hearted or emotionally fragile. It is intense, relentless and a beautiful-but-terrifying exploration of what happens when reality blurs to the extent that it disappears.
An exceptional achievement by the author but a read I would find hard to pick up again.
Thank to Kyra Wilder, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review.