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rossiereads's review against another edition
3.0
*potential spoilers*
I have lots of mixed feelings about this book. I loved the prose, the premise, and the visualization of a woman's descent into madness. However, I found that the story just didn't go anywhere - the sections in the institute/prison, (it's purposely not fully clear), gave the promise of a twist or turn which never came. There were elements and sections (i.e. Nell - was she also Nell? The passage with the green dresses, the jealously about Aurelie building?) which I wanted to be explained further.
The ending felt unresolved which I didn't particularly like - this may be purposeful to increase the reader's discomfort, and if it was it worked!
Thank you to ABRAMS and NetGalley for a copy of the ARC in return for my honest review.
I have lots of mixed feelings about this book. I loved the prose, the premise, and the visualization of a woman's descent into madness. However, I found that the story just didn't go anywhere - the sections in the institute/prison, (it's purposely not fully clear), gave the promise of a twist or turn which never came. There were elements and sections (i.e. Nell - was she also Nell? The passage with the green dresses, the jealously about Aurelie building?) which I wanted to be explained further.
The ending felt unresolved which I didn't particularly like - this may be purposeful to increase the reader's discomfort, and if it was it worked!
Thank you to ABRAMS and NetGalley for a copy of the ARC in return for my honest review.
daisyanne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
3.0
I don't like ambiguous books, but if that doesn't bother you it's very well written and I think a lot of men should read it. It captures the claustrophobia of new motherhood very well.
tinamoo's review
3.0
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is about Erika. She moves to a foreign country with her husband and two young children for her husband’s job. He is increasingly away from home more and more. She finds herself isolated in a country where she doesn’t even speak the language. We follow Erika‘s descent into madness.
This was an average book to me. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. I found it strange that Erika referred to her husband and children by initial only. This did irritate me at first but I got used to it. As a mum of two with a husband in the Navy there was a lot that I could relate to. This was a different read for me. I thought that the descent into madness was done quite subtly. I didn’t rate the ending but I could understand why it was done that way.
This book is about Erika. She moves to a foreign country with her husband and two young children for her husband’s job. He is increasingly away from home more and more. She finds herself isolated in a country where she doesn’t even speak the language. We follow Erika‘s descent into madness.
This was an average book to me. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. I found it strange that Erika referred to her husband and children by initial only. This did irritate me at first but I got used to it. As a mum of two with a husband in the Navy there was a lot that I could relate to. This was a different read for me. I thought that the descent into madness was done quite subtly. I didn’t rate the ending but I could understand why it was done that way.
invisiblemonster's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A book like this comes maybe every hundred you read. The prose is hypnotic. It was as if the narrator was giving a terrifying soliloquy, and I was merely a witness to her dark, horrified mind. It is a story of anxiety, loneliness, paranoia, fear, and hopelessness. I felt it all with every fiber of my being. Some parts left me confused and the ending is completely nonsensical but that was probably the point. I just don’t know. It is an experience I won’t soon forget but an explanation would be surely be welcome.
booksiread's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nietzschesghost's review
4.0
Little Bandaged Days is a story of motherhood, the search for identity and the slow descent into madness through isolation. After moving to Geneva, Switzerland, for her husband's job protagonist Erika finds she is so very alone; once she has put the children to sleep appears to be the hours that impact her most. Despite all of these issues bubbling beneath the surface she still manages to maintain the facade of the perfect family unit she wishes so desperately she was part of. The account of her slide into insanity is so vividly and strikingly observed that I was shocked to discover this is Wilder’s debut novel. It was so visceral and fascinating right from the outset and I feel having one more compassionate book based around mental illness can only be a good thing. And also the writing is a thing of beauty.
This is so much more profound than just a story; it was an experience and a terrifying one at that. We all know that mental health is still a taboo subject and it still very much has a stigma attached to it. Being alone in a strange country with only yourself for company is a situation most of us would find extremely daunting and to make matters worse she doesn’t speak the language or understand what is being said by others. Slowly but surely she slips away and her grasp on reality continues to dwindle. It’s an emotive, haunting and heartbreaking read featuring some rather disturbing moments. One of the aspects the author does exceptionally well is create a creeping sense of dread and oppressive claustrophobia and these build and build throughout. A compelling and important book. Many thanks to Picador for an ARC.
This is so much more profound than just a story; it was an experience and a terrifying one at that. We all know that mental health is still a taboo subject and it still very much has a stigma attached to it. Being alone in a strange country with only yourself for company is a situation most of us would find extremely daunting and to make matters worse she doesn’t speak the language or understand what is being said by others. Slowly but surely she slips away and her grasp on reality continues to dwindle. It’s an emotive, haunting and heartbreaking read featuring some rather disturbing moments. One of the aspects the author does exceptionally well is create a creeping sense of dread and oppressive claustrophobia and these build and build throughout. A compelling and important book. Many thanks to Picador for an ARC.