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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.
the_jessmarie's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely one of those books you either love or hate, I think. I liked the writing for the first half but eventually I felt it become very tedious and I felt that it wasn't going anywhere. The ending was unsatisfactory. There's a magic in being able to leave a lot up to interpretation while also giving enough information to guide the reader and this book didn't quite do that. The author tried to leave everything up to interpretation with very little information (if any given that the narrator is completely unreliable do you have no idea what's real and what's not). I liked the overall idea of the book. The execution left a bit to be desired, mostly because there wasn't quite enough done with the ending.
jensteerswell's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe I was tired when I read this, but at a certain point, it was no longer clear what was real and what was a figment of the character's imagination: was her husband really leaving for weeks at a time and not bothering to check in? Was she really buying lemons that went bad by the end of the day? And then it wasn't very interesting anymore. The ending was actually good though, because it isn't a thriller that suddenly ties everything up in a neat bow and finds a happy ending for the characters.
nushreadsbooks's review
2.0
** received from netgalley in exchange for an honest review **
It took me so long to finish this book. I just wasn't gripped by the characters, the plot or the setting. This book follows a lonely mother as she grapples loneliness, raising two young children and moving to a new country. We spend most of the book alone with her and her children who are only referred to by initials. This really bugged me as I couldn't develop a real connection to the characters; it also wasn't a good representation of the main character's growing depression as it started from the beginning.
Without giving away any spoilers, the plot was predictable but parts of the book was touching.
It took me so long to finish this book. I just wasn't gripped by the characters, the plot or the setting. This book follows a lonely mother as she grapples loneliness, raising two young children and moving to a new country. We spend most of the book alone with her and her children who are only referred to by initials. This really bugged me as I couldn't develop a real connection to the characters; it also wasn't a good representation of the main character's growing depression as it started from the beginning.
Without giving away any spoilers, the plot was predictable but parts of the book was touching.
theanxiousreader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
shelleyann01's review against another edition
4.0
I loved how this story was about motherhood and mental health. It was a slow burn of a novel that is written so poignant, powerfully and in such a revealing way. No one seems to have a name in this story and I thought that would make me feel disconnected BUT in reality it showed me just how indifferent the mother is to the rest of her family.
It was very thought provoking and impassioned. The writing is beautiful and the story is told with such empathy it made me feel so bad for the woman. I did have a hard time understanding why the husband was so blind to what his wife was going through but maybe that was intentional.
I highly recommend this book for the wonderful writing and timely subject manner. I, for one, will be thinking about this book long after I have read it.
Disclousure:
Thank you NetGalley, Kyra Wilder, ABRAMS and The Overlook Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
#LittleBandagedDays #NetGalley
It was very thought provoking and impassioned. The writing is beautiful and the story is told with such empathy it made me feel so bad for the woman. I did have a hard time understanding why the husband was so blind to what his wife was going through but maybe that was intentional.
I highly recommend this book for the wonderful writing and timely subject manner. I, for one, will be thinking about this book long after I have read it.
Disclousure:
Thank you NetGalley, Kyra Wilder, ABRAMS and The Overlook Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
#LittleBandagedDays #NetGalley
books_with_tutusandsons's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes motherhood can be the most solitary thing ever. Yeah, you have the company of the kiddos, but you sleep in fragmets and days easily blend into one. If you dont have someone adult to talk to, life can easily become a set of to do lists and a blur of inner monologues. And this is what this book talks about. ⠀
⠀
In a form of a monologue, we follow the days in life of a woman in the foreign country raising two little kids while her husband works days and nights. How easily the lack of sleep can make one delusional? Where is the boundary between imagination and reality? What is real and what isnt? ⠀
⠀
So familiar are the daily things the main character goes through, but then again, so scary. Through the whole book you cannot escape the feeling that something will go wrong, and the dreadfulness of it just builds up. Even though you fear turning every page expecting that it all comes tumbling down, you cannot not hope for it to all resolve and end well. But, does it? One can never know. ⠀
⠀
Even though its a short one, it could be shortened even a bit more - I think it would only add to the impact. All in all, a great debut novel I can easily recommend. ⠀
Big thnx to NetGalley and the publisher of an ARC of this ebook.
⠀
In a form of a monologue, we follow the days in life of a woman in the foreign country raising two little kids while her husband works days and nights. How easily the lack of sleep can make one delusional? Where is the boundary between imagination and reality? What is real and what isnt? ⠀
⠀
So familiar are the daily things the main character goes through, but then again, so scary. Through the whole book you cannot escape the feeling that something will go wrong, and the dreadfulness of it just builds up. Even though you fear turning every page expecting that it all comes tumbling down, you cannot not hope for it to all resolve and end well. But, does it? One can never know. ⠀
⠀
Even though its a short one, it could be shortened even a bit more - I think it would only add to the impact. All in all, a great debut novel I can easily recommend. ⠀
Big thnx to NetGalley and the publisher of an ARC of this ebook.
lauralhart's review against another edition
5.0
I quickly finished this one, and wow. It's quiet and lovely, until you notice—just barely—that something seems off. Claustrophobic is a great word to describe the second half of the novel, and I would also say dissociative and dark. The narrator is obsessive and panicked, really panicked. I was surprised and a little disturbed to see how easily I morphed into the narrator while reading, how easily I sympathized and identified with her. Her world was so easy to visualize, and it was all so clear. I'm a sucker for the "stranger in a strange land" type of story, and this one did not disappoint. It really is, like I told my boss, about the emptinesses and what's not there, even though the effect of the story is claustrophobic. It isn't exactly plot-driven; rather, it's a compounding of days and actions that slowly start to change their meaning and ultimately lose it. I think that's brilliant. I also thought the writing was lovely. I kept underlining passages as I read, and they stuck with me long after I'd moved on.