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charl's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
christinevellis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
louiseburlow's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Before reading The Tidal Zone I'd never read any fiction from Sarah Moss. I had however read Names for the Sea, her fascinating non-fiction book detailing her experiences of living in Iceland for a year.
I did not want this book to end. Sarah's writing style is absolutely gorgeous and I found myself going back and reading paragraphs over and over again. I loved how seamlessly the different themes are written throughout.
I picked this up from the library yesterday evening and finished it this afternoon - I could not put it down! Definitely excited to read more of her fiction.
I did not want this book to end. Sarah's writing style is absolutely gorgeous and I found myself going back and reading paragraphs over and over again. I loved how seamlessly the different themes are written throughout.
I picked this up from the library yesterday evening and finished it this afternoon - I could not put it down! Definitely excited to read more of her fiction.
noraborealis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
3.0
lamusadelils's review against another edition
3.0
"Suddenly, your heart began; suddenly in the darkness of your mother’s womb there was a crackle and a flash and out of nothing, the current began to run. Suddenly you began to breathe. Suddenly, you will stop, you and me and all of us. Your lungs will rest at last and the electric pulse in your pulse will vanish into the darkness from which it came.
Put your fingers in your ears, lay your head on the pillow, listen to the footsteps of your blood.
You are alive."
Hay partes de este libro que son un deleite. Esta lleno de reflexiones que se leen completamente naturales y reales; cosas que cualquiera puede pensar o decir.
Me encanta que los personajes estén tan bien desarrollados y que sus interacciones, a veces tan sencillas, reflejen los detalles de la situación tan delicada y las motivaciones de todos.
Lo que no me gustó tanto fue que a veces caía en detalles demasiado mundanos o dejaba a los personajes divagar demasiado.
Aun así, es muy breve y los capítulos tan cortos que no llega a ser cansado.
Put your fingers in your ears, lay your head on the pillow, listen to the footsteps of your blood.
You are alive."
Hay partes de este libro que son un deleite. Esta lleno de reflexiones que se leen completamente naturales y reales; cosas que cualquiera puede pensar o decir.
Me encanta que los personajes estén tan bien desarrollados y que sus interacciones, a veces tan sencillas, reflejen los detalles de la situación tan delicada y las motivaciones de todos.
Lo que no me gustó tanto fue que a veces caía en detalles demasiado mundanos o dejaba a los personajes divagar demasiado.
Aun así, es muy breve y los capítulos tan cortos que no llega a ser cansado.
cf1990xxx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
alexandra_kat's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
5.0
erinstewart's review against another edition
5.0
This book is very good. Miriam is a fifteen year-old girl who collapses at school and is lucky to have lived. Told from the perspective of her father, Adam, at its base the book is about dealing with worry and uncertainty about the people you love, and the looming threat of death. Today, he points out, many of us are able to ignore worries about survival. We live in safe places and have relatively easy access to medical care (I say 'relatively easy', the book details the ingrained frustrations of Britain's National Health Service), adequate nutrition, and education. But most of the world, most of the time, has had to face suffering and death with little pause. In some sense, Miriam's health crisis compels Adam to commune with his ancestors - people who were vigilant about keeping themselves and their children safe, people who survived the Halocaust - and while he is fearful, he also forges forwards in the understanding that you want doubt. You don't want a clear story of the future. "You think you want an ending but you don't. You want life. You want disorder and ignorance and uncertainty."
Other stories are weaved into the main narrative, stories about Adam's father, and stories about the Coventry Cathedral. Both hold the common theme of redefining the present while the past looks over you. There is an intellectuality about the book which comes into fore in these interludes. And overall it is a very clever, literary book with an academic as the narrator, but it is also accessible, with short chapters with a relateable voice.
More than anything though, I wholeheartedly recommend this book because it's funny, its dark humor engages with politics, feminism, academia, the medical system, and household arrangements (while Adam teaches and writes, he is primarily a stay-at-home father). It feels contemporary even though it taps into ancient fears.
The Tidal Zone has some similarities with writing by authors such as A.M. Holmes (but less odd), and Christos Tsolkas (but much less graphic). I was also reminded of Helen McDonald's H is for Hawk for its attention to the British landscape and for its weaving of the historical and contemporary.
Other stories are weaved into the main narrative, stories about Adam's father, and stories about the Coventry Cathedral. Both hold the common theme of redefining the present while the past looks over you. There is an intellectuality about the book which comes into fore in these interludes. And overall it is a very clever, literary book with an academic as the narrator, but it is also accessible, with short chapters with a relateable voice.
More than anything though, I wholeheartedly recommend this book because it's funny, its dark humor engages with politics, feminism, academia, the medical system, and household arrangements (while Adam teaches and writes, he is primarily a stay-at-home father). It feels contemporary even though it taps into ancient fears.
The Tidal Zone has some similarities with writing by authors such as A.M. Holmes (but less odd), and Christos Tsolkas (but much less graphic). I was also reminded of Helen McDonald's H is for Hawk for its attention to the British landscape and for its weaving of the historical and contemporary.
kisullivan's review against another edition
2.0
Wonderful writing as always but I just wasn't interested in the story.