Scan barcode
andrearbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book holds the distinction of the longest tenure (7 years!) on my to-read list, and I decided it was time to finally move it onto the read list. This is a well-told story about the complexity and challenge of a marriage. Told in both real-time and through letters that Ingrid has left behind for her husband, the book pieces together the story of what brought everyone to here. This is very much a heavy emotional read, but also so wonderfully written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Infidelity
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Cancer
zezeki's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Abortion, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
colorwriter's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-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? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Miscarriage, Child death, and Abortion
nonsensicaljourney's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
To begin with a disclaimer, I have a bit of a complicated relationship with contemporary literary fiction, and this book (albeit objectively very good) made me remember why my relationship is usually so strained. I read this book because it was recommended by a friend, and I still think it is good - I just didn't personally enjoy it very much.
This book is set up with a very interesting and well-thought-through structure. Gil's wife, Ingrid, has disappeared, and he starts off the book thinking he's seen her reappear. It becomes clear that Gil is getting old and might just be imagining things, and the primary plot is about their two daughters and how they respond to Gil getting old. Meanwhile, the alternate chapters tell the story of Ingrid, in letters that she wrote to Gil and left in books around the house before she disappeared. The themes about writing, reading, and what it means to tell a story, are the parts that I liked the most about this book - it was an interesting investigation of what it means to be a writer, and what it means to tell a story. It taught me about point of view / perspective and how complicated that idea can be, when executed well like it is in this book.
This book is also very well-written in general, and I sped through it relatively quickly for a book with this kind of literary content which investigated the psyches of characters so deeply. My issue with the book isn't so much about the way it was written or the ability of its author, but more about my difficulties with reading about characters who seem to constantly make bad moral choices, or seem to constantly be put in harm's way. I imagine that's my own personal hang up, but if that's an issue for you, beware that this book falls in that category, at least in my opinion.
That being said, overall, this is a well-written and well-executed book about interesting themes (not just reading and writing, but also responsibility in marriage and the roles of men and women in society) and if you like this kind of thing, I'd recommend you give it a go.
This book is set up with a very interesting and well-thought-through structure. Gil's wife, Ingrid, has disappeared, and he starts off the book thinking he's seen her reappear. It becomes clear that Gil is getting old and might just be imagining things, and the primary plot is about their two daughters and how they respond to Gil getting old. Meanwhile, the alternate chapters tell the story of Ingrid, in letters that she wrote to Gil and left in books around the house before she disappeared. The themes about writing, reading, and what it means to tell a story, are the parts that I liked the most about this book - it was an interesting investigation of what it means to be a writer, and what it means to tell a story. It taught me about point of view / perspective and how complicated that idea can be, when executed well like it is in this book.
This book is also very well-written in general, and I sped through it relatively quickly for a book with this kind of literary content which investigated the psyches of characters so deeply. My issue with the book isn't so much about the way it was written or the ability of its author, but more about my difficulties with reading about characters who seem to constantly make bad moral choices, or seem to constantly be put in harm's way. I imagine that's my own personal hang up, but if that's an issue for you, beware that this book falls in that category, at least in my opinion.
That being said, overall, this is a well-written and well-executed book about interesting themes (not just reading and writing, but also responsibility in marriage and the roles of men and women in society) and if you like this kind of thing, I'd recommend you give it a go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
samreynard's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Rape
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Suicide, Misogyny, Child death, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abortion
jennikreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Abortion
seawarrior's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
This is not the first story I've read where letters from the past intersected with the present, but the presence of them in the home the entire time, within the pages of books Ingrid's daughters touched and moved and never thought about again, added an aching, unresolved tension to the narrative. Altogether I felt the book was engaging and unique. Each of the principle women almost have a magical quality to their behaviors and beliefs. I appreciated how familial intimacy was displayed through their expressions of oddity, such as Flora's collecting and discarding of teeth, her naked mermaid swims with her mother, and Nan's lifelong proclivity towards motherhood.
Most characters involved here had personalities and motives that flowed and crashed like the ocean in Ingrid's backyard. Even her perspectives were difficult to pin down, thought she spent all her writing time describing them. I didn't really like any of the characters much, though I understood them and why they acted and thought the ways they did, all except Gil. It's Gil who we start the story with, who we first feel empathy towards, and who we come to realize hides a monstrous selfishness underneath his persona of a witty, loving, apologetic writer and father. Much like Ingrid, I, the reader, grew to quit forgiving Gil, to quit loving him, to quit lying to myself that he loved her, although much too late. Ultimately this story is really about the marred adulthood of a young woman who was held responsible for her older professor's trespasses against her and marooned with him by both her educational institution and her closest friend. This betrayal, and many more waiting in her future, forms the context of her life, up until her apparent death. Whether Ingrid's death was purposeful, an accident, or never really happened at all is left ambiguous. The truth of her story is left less important than how it was read by the people left behind, namely her daughters, who grow into oppositely minded adults believing their mother either died by suicide or would one day return to them. The novel ends with familial tensions never fully resolved or satisfied, but dissolving by the weight and tides of time.
Most characters involved here had personalities and motives that flowed and crashed like the ocean in Ingrid's backyard. Even her perspectives were difficult to pin down, thought she spent all her writing time describing them. I didn't really like any of the characters much, though I understood them and why they acted and thought the ways they did, all except Gil. It's Gil who we start the story with, who we first feel empathy towards, and who we come to realize hides a monstrous selfishness underneath his persona of a witty, loving, apologetic writer and father. Much like Ingrid, I, the reader, grew to quit forgiving Gil, to quit loving him, to quit lying to myself that he loved her, although much too late. Ultimately this story is really about the marred adulthood of a young woman who was held responsible for her older professor's trespasses against her and marooned with him by both her educational institution and her closest friend. This betrayal, and many more waiting in her future, forms the context of her life, up until her apparent death. Whether Ingrid's death was purposeful, an accident, or never really happened at all is left ambiguous. The truth of her story is left less important than how it was read by the people left behind, namely her daughters, who grow into oppositely minded adults believing their mother either died by suicide or would one day return to them. The novel ends with familial tensions never fully resolved or satisfied, but dissolving by the weight and tides of time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Vomit
More...