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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
reflective
slow-paced
This was objectively well-written but I can’t say I enjoyed it all that much, mostly because of the narrator. There are so many moments in the book where I just wanted him to shut up. And his weird fixation on his daughter’s weight grossed me out, as well as his obsession with “healthy eating”, which honestly went into the absurd (the description of the home made baby food takes the cake). I realise this was probably meant to be a narrative foil to his inability to make his daughter healthy but it was yuck to read. I actually enjoyed the bits about the cathedral the most probably and could have done with more of them. Likewise, really enjoyed the few parts about the narrator’s dad’s life.
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Glad that I no longer have to spend any more time in this mans head.
Do fancy visiting Coventry Cathedral though.
Do fancy visiting Coventry Cathedral though.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There are books and there are books. Books you enjoy because they’re warm and cozy, or there’s a clever plot, great characters, brilliant writing or all of the above, plus more AND books you read and find uncomfortable, because they put on the table issues you don’t really want to deal with, because they might hit too close to home, and hey, fiction is for escapism, right?
The Tidal Zone was one of those uncomfortable reads for me. As a parent, you find yourself in new, worrisome situations starting with day one, and, correct me if I’m wrong, it never stops. Never. Sometimes you deal with simple issues like which diapers are the best?—and of course I’m saying “simple” just because that era is way behind me—or trying to make your daughter understand that there are other pretty colours besides pink (the struggle is SO real!), but then, one day you might just get a call that your kid fell on the playground and their heart just stopped beating. And that's when the shit gets real.
Sarah Moss writes (beautifully and quite convincingly) from the perspective of a man, choosing to reverse the traditional roles: we have an almost stay at home dad and a full time (always tired, never enough fed) medical doctor mom. What Moss also does brilliantly is the parallel between the life of the family dealing with and trying to recover after the daughter’s illness and the Coventry Cathedral, bombed in WW2 and later rebuilt (Adam, the dad - an art historian, is researching and writing a book about it).
I can’t believe I actually enjoyed a book dealing with illness and hospitals (Moss’ merit) and found so much common ground with Adam and unless you live in Canada or some utopian place, the health system issues will sound way too familiar and relatable.
Also, Miriam is probably one of my favourite teenagers in fiction right now.
***
"Stories have endings; that's why we tell them, for reassurance that there is meaning in our lives."
The Tidal Zone was one of those uncomfortable reads for me. As a parent, you find yourself in new, worrisome situations starting with day one, and, correct me if I’m wrong, it never stops. Never. Sometimes you deal with simple issues like which diapers are the best?—and of course I’m saying “simple” just because that era is way behind me—or trying to make your daughter understand that there are other pretty colours besides pink (the struggle is SO real!), but then, one day you might just get a call that your kid fell on the playground and their heart just stopped beating. And that's when the shit gets real.
Sarah Moss writes (beautifully and quite convincingly) from the perspective of a man, choosing to reverse the traditional roles: we have an almost stay at home dad and a full time (always tired, never enough fed) medical doctor mom. What Moss also does brilliantly is the parallel between the life of the family dealing with and trying to recover after the daughter’s illness and the Coventry Cathedral, bombed in WW2 and later rebuilt (Adam, the dad - an art historian, is researching and writing a book about it).
I can’t believe I actually enjoyed a book dealing with illness and hospitals (Moss’ merit) and found so much common ground with Adam and unless you live in Canada or some utopian place, the health system issues will sound way too familiar and relatable.
Also, Miriam is probably one of my favourite teenagers in fiction right now.
***
"Stories have endings; that's why we tell them, for reassurance that there is meaning in our lives."
What a brilliant story.
An exposé of modern middle class english life.
Complicated stuff the author has simplified in words but not in meaning. A satisfying reading experience.
An exposé of modern middle class english life.
Complicated stuff the author has simplified in words but not in meaning. A satisfying reading experience.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes