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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart really took me by surprise, so I was excited to try something else from the author, but this just didn't feel quite grounded enough for me.
I feel we didn't really get much out of Esther apart from being told she loves astronomy, and then her being pretty terrible for a lot of the book. I get that this book is more about the messy, non-linear process of grieving and healing, and it isn't really until the end that you start to see Esther coming into herself. But for such a long book where you don't feel super connected to the main character for this reason, I need something more and didn't really get that from the mystery element either.
The seven lines Esther is investigating all pretty much point to the same thing and similar folktales, so it started to feel repetitive by the time we got to the last few. I liked that over the course of the story she came to understand her sister better, and that at the end she was working on herself, but I feel the romance element was unnecessary to this story and almost prevented us from seeing her come into her own outside of a romantic relationship (especially because when she is introduced to us her sleeping with gross men is one of her vices). There were also some interesting discussions that felt glossed over about how to untangle grief and love, and her life from her sister's.
It felt a lot less grounded and real than Alice Hart, but also didn't really go the other way to be really poetic and abstract. It sat in a weird middle where I didn't feel really connected to the plot or characters, but also didn't find the writing particularly special. By the end the author's need to list every single song playing during a party or who everyone was dressed up as at a costume party just felt like grating fan service to the 80s, and it added to the feeling that everything was a bit too drawn out.
Overall I liked the message of finding your family and women supporting women (and their agency to tell their own stories), but I also found this a little ham fisted. The author has obviously done her research, and for example she is passionate about tattoos, but I think it needed a bit more of a less is more approach when it came to inserting a lot of these details. It was an easy enough read even though it does cover some darker topics and is pretty long, but I wasn't as engaged as I was hoping to be.
I feel we didn't really get much out of Esther apart from being told she loves astronomy, and then her being pretty terrible for a lot of the book. I get that this book is more about the messy, non-linear process of grieving and healing, and it isn't really until the end that you start to see Esther coming into herself. But for such a long book where you don't feel super connected to the main character for this reason, I need something more and didn't really get that from the mystery element either.
The seven lines Esther is investigating all pretty much point to the same thing and similar folktales, so it started to feel repetitive by the time we got to the last few. I liked that over the course of the story she came to understand her sister better, and that at the end she was working on herself, but I feel the romance element was unnecessary to this story and almost prevented us from seeing her come into her own outside of a romantic relationship (especially because when she is introduced to us her sleeping with gross men is one of her vices). There were also some interesting discussions that felt glossed over about how to untangle grief and love, and her life from her sister's.
It felt a lot less grounded and real than Alice Hart, but also didn't really go the other way to be really poetic and abstract. It sat in a weird middle where I didn't feel really connected to the plot or characters, but also didn't find the writing particularly special. By the end the author's need to list every single song playing during a party or who everyone was dressed up as at a costume party just felt like grating fan service to the 80s, and it added to the feeling that everything was a bit too drawn out.
Overall I liked the message of finding your family and women supporting women (and their agency to tell their own stories), but I also found this a little ham fisted. The author has obviously done her research, and for example she is passionate about tattoos, but I think it needed a bit more of a less is more approach when it came to inserting a lot of these details. It was an easy enough read even though it does cover some darker topics and is pretty long, but I wasn't as engaged as I was hoping to be.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not the first one to say this, but the book is a fairytale for adults. It is full of lush, extravagant scene setting, which Holly Ringland is brilliant at. It stretches the imagination and credibility but that's not a bad thing. Myths, legends, ancient cults and traditions are the building blocks of the story. Described by various reviews as "haunting and magical", it takes in themes of grief, courage, mourning, transformation, the nature of sisterly love, parenting, childhood, motherhood, "wearing your heart on your skin" (the art of the tattoo) and more. This is a weighty load, and sometimes it shows. It's a long book that would have been improved by a lot of cutting, and the multiple themes drag it down and unnecessarily dilute the strength of the story and cloud the characterisations.
Some of the characters came across as impossibly twee, irritating and lacking in credibility, e.g. the Downtown Abbey obsessed Heidi, Flosi, the many wise women all adorned with flowing locks, seashell necklaces and dare I say it, self-righteousness. Esther herself was a trainwreck and didn't seem, despite the attempt at demonstrating transformation, a whole lot improved by the end.
All that said, reading the book was a delightful escapist experience. It's a wonderful depiction of Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands, where I've not been but can imagine. I was surprised to read in the author's note that her planned research trip there was waylaid by Covid and her research on those places was all done at a remove. Which makes it even more stunning.
Some of the characters came across as impossibly twee, irritating and lacking in credibility, e.g. the Downtown Abbey obsessed Heidi, Flosi, the many wise women all adorned with flowing locks, seashell necklaces and dare I say it, self-righteousness. Esther herself was a trainwreck and didn't seem, despite the attempt at demonstrating transformation, a whole lot improved by the end.
All that said, reading the book was a delightful escapist experience. It's a wonderful depiction of Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands, where I've not been but can imagine. I was surprised to read in the author's note that her planned research trip there was waylaid by Covid and her research on those places was all done at a remove. Which makes it even more stunning.
it was cute and i enjoyed. it’s another aussie book, but also takes place in denmark for a bit. i really really like the way the australian stuff was written. very casually incorporates stuff that makes it feel home-y and real (aka not american) and not in a cringy ‘look at how australian this book is!’ kind of way. the premise of the book is the seven ‘skins’ or stages of ester (shocking) so the book is set up to walk through these stages, but i saw no correlation with the storytelling and the actual stages it was supposed to be connected to. idk if i just wasn’t picking it up, or it wasn’t explained well but i expected to be taken on the journey with her, but it just kind of fell a bit flat. cute story, glad i read it and i did enjoy. i’m no author tho lol
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I have quite mixed feelings about this book. There were so many elements of this book that I loved, no matter how frustrating Esther was as a character sometimes. I loved the magic, and the folklore and Aura's spirit. I was very inspired by this book up until Esther got to the Faroe Islands - it lost it's magic for me after that. But I think a lot of themes about grief, womenhood, and folklore keep the rating high for me. While I really loved the mystery of figuring out what happened to Aura, I think I would have loved to just read her story.
Oooooohhhhh I can't stop crying !!!!!! This book had everything I needed to read and repeat to myself. The magic of nature and healing and emotion and connection was so utterly gorgeous.
I loved the connection to land and country and familial ties. It made me realise how important it is to still believe in magic. J'adore. Ow my heart.
I loved the connection to land and country and familial ties. It made me realise how important it is to still believe in magic. J'adore. Ow my heart.
I dramatically have this 2 stars when I finished reading it at midnight the other night, but it’s definitely worth more than that given Hollys’ writing is simply beautiful, so it’s 3 stars from me. I will write a full review later.
A dive into mental health and grief. Misunderstanding between those we care about. Family.
Transformations.
To journey to beautiful locations - this has given me the urge to travel again.
Poetic.
What a sad, but hopeful, and realistic story of family and life.
4.7/5 I will remember Esters story ✨❤️
Transformations.
To journey to beautiful locations - this has given me the urge to travel again.
Poetic.
What a sad, but hopeful, and realistic story of family and life.
4.7/5 I will remember Esters story ✨❤️
This book has firmly lodged itself into my psyche, it moved my soul and spirit, it did something to me that I hope doesn’t fade.
It’s about loss and grief and a process of reconciling the two, but also about women, stories and spirit and what Holly does best, incorporating them all into nature, connecting your soul to your natural surroundings. Throw in art and a bit of the mystique and it’s a powerful story of healing.
It’s about loss and grief and a process of reconciling the two, but also about women, stories and spirit and what Holly does best, incorporating them all into nature, connecting your soul to your natural surroundings. Throw in art and a bit of the mystique and it’s a powerful story of healing.