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imalahakhund's review against another edition
3.0
It's not exactly a review but more like a discussion.
After I read Inheritance by Dani Shapiro, I watched many of her interviews and book readings/discussions on youtube. I really like Shapiro's very clear, simplistic and intimate writing and want to atleast read all of her memoirs. In Hourglass, she talks about her doubts and insecurities and about her younger self, they were a bunch of really great quotes and stuff. Eventhough I liked her book, I feel like I don't qualify for putting up a review because I am not married so I can't really say how relatable it was or wasn't or how it was.
I am a sucker for good rom-coms and romantic movies where people end up together and everything is great, but as I grow older I also seek out movies like A Separation (Iranian movie), Blue Valentine, Mariage Story; movies that potray a more realistic picture of realationships. So what I am trying to say is that when I read this book I was looking for a story that says, somethings along the lines of "hey, look I guarantee that we'll have tough times. I guarantee that at some point one or both of us will want to get out. But I also guarantee that if I don't do this, I'll regret it for the rest of my life." Golden points if you get the reference.
After I read Inheritance by Dani Shapiro, I watched many of her interviews and book readings/discussions on youtube. I really like Shapiro's very clear, simplistic and intimate writing and want to atleast read all of her memoirs. In Hourglass, she talks about her doubts and insecurities and about her younger self, they were a bunch of really great quotes and stuff. Eventhough I liked her book, I feel like I don't qualify for putting up a review because I am not married so I can't really say how relatable it was or wasn't or how it was.
I am a sucker for good rom-coms and romantic movies where people end up together and everything is great, but as I grow older I also seek out movies like A Separation (Iranian movie), Blue Valentine, Mariage Story; movies that potray a more realistic picture of realationships. So what I am trying to say is that when I read this book I was looking for a story that says, somethings along the lines of "hey, look I guarantee that we'll have tough times. I guarantee that at some point one or both of us will want to get out. But I also guarantee that if I don't do this, I'll regret it for the rest of my life." Golden points if you get the reference.
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked her memoir Devotion, so I expected to like this one better. There were beautifully written passages that made me pause and reflect, but there were long stretches that left me cold. There’s something in her tone that feels off: her glaring blind spots to her own privilege? Her complete lack of humor and joy? I’m glad I read it, and yet I’m not sure I’d recommend it to anyone else.
dianaj23's review against another edition
4.0
This is a beautiful, engaging back-and-forth into the author's marriage and my first encounter with her work. Shapiro relates different events from from marriage of 18 years; it is her third marriage and the only one she didn't feel the need to get out of. Across the pages, she both marvels and grits her teeth at the longevity, always afraid of the outcome.
This marriage has a story book beginning: coup-de-foudre turned into a whirlwind romance then turned into the marriage-house-child trio. Two married artists and all that this entails. The good, the bad and the ugly. Shapiro has a gift for coating even the worst parts in honey, to make you feel that she will pull out of whatever bad situation. And still, the paradox is that, at times, you read it like she thinks of it: like an impending doom is hanging just above their heads, waiting to destroy them.
It's a book that speaks of the delicate balancing act that two people engage in for every day of their marriage. About satisfactions and the delusions. It's also a book about what time can give to us (and rob from us) and the pondering over it once we reach a certain age and try to reconcile all the selves that have inhabited the same body.
Reading this as a still-newly married woman gives me hope that the good things still last, that two people living together makes live a bit better for each of them.
This marriage has a story book beginning: coup-de-foudre turned into a whirlwind romance then turned into the marriage-house-child trio. Two married artists and all that this entails. The good, the bad and the ugly. Shapiro has a gift for coating even the worst parts in honey, to make you feel that she will pull out of whatever bad situation. And still, the paradox is that, at times, you read it like she thinks of it: like an impending doom is hanging just above their heads, waiting to destroy them.
It's a book that speaks of the delicate balancing act that two people engage in for every day of their marriage. About satisfactions and the delusions. It's also a book about what time can give to us (and rob from us) and the pondering over it once we reach a certain age and try to reconcile all the selves that have inhabited the same body.
Reading this as a still-newly married woman gives me hope that the good things still last, that two people living together makes live a bit better for each of them.
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent read. Do not be fooled by the slimness of the volume, there is meat in there.
kerrym33's review against another edition
4.0
This was my second book by Dani Shapiro, and I was again struck in the first few pages by the beauty of her writing. I found this to be a brave concept for a memoir--a thoughtful and honest examination of one's own marriage, from where it began to where it currently stands. A short, lovely read.
eileen_critchley's review against another edition
3.0
This is a memoir about marriage. What I found interesting is I have been married about as long as the author (almost 20 years, although she is about 10 years older than me). I definitely felt that we look at marriage differently. She seemed almost cynical about it. I could also relate to dealing with a parent with Alzheimers.
thuglibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Much more literary than her other works. It read like musings or essays of her life, rather than a memoir. As a reader, I always felt like an outsider as I never connected with the author. However, I typically love Dani Shapiro.
I read an advance copy and was not compensated.
I read an advance copy and was not compensated.
kjboldon's review against another edition
5.0
A deceptively slim but concentrated look at the compromises that go into a marriage, as the author examines the sturdy and less-than so material her own eighteen-years and counting marriage is based on. Filled with apt illustrative quotes from wise writers, it moves seemingly effortlessly back in forth in time. Beautifully written, skillfully observed, and emotionally very, very intelligent.