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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
Audiobook: 07hr 24m
Ursula Hegi / her publishers found a great voice in Angela Dawe for narrating this circus (zirkus) tale of grief and resilience. Fluidly told from a number of different perspectives, the throughline of these stories is sometimes a slippery one, but that is so thematically appropriate that it didn't upset me as a listener. Fascinating and troubling, I found it a compelling and quick read.
Ursula Hegi / her publishers found a great voice in Angela Dawe for narrating this circus (zirkus) tale of grief and resilience. Fluidly told from a number of different perspectives, the throughline of these stories is sometimes a slippery one, but that is so thematically appropriate that it didn't upset me as a listener. Fascinating and troubling, I found it a compelling and quick read.
Disjointed and wavering in the storytelling. I still am not quite sure if this was a novel attempting to examine the nature of grief, or something else entirely.
I really enjoyed most of this book, the beginning really sucked me in. maybe it's because I was listening to it but there were a few times I got a bit lost on who's perspective I was hearing. The ending also felt a bit abrupt and it would have been nice to get a bit more there.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book!
I found this book to be oddly scattered. I would get into the story, and then the point of view and voice would change. One second it would be 3rd person, and then it would be 1st person. It threw me out of the narrative every time.
What this book boils down to is the intersection of 3 women's lives: Lotte, Tilli and Sabine. However, I never felt like there was a real focus, and new characters popped up constantly. It just never felt cohesive to me.
I found this book to be oddly scattered. I would get into the story, and then the point of view and voice would change. One second it would be 3rd person, and then it would be 1st person. It threw me out of the narrative every time.
What this book boils down to is the intersection of 3 women's lives: Lotte, Tilli and Sabine. However, I never felt like there was a real focus, and new characters popped up constantly. It just never felt cohesive to me.
I read 25% and I couldn’t finish this book... the premise was so interesting and I was excited to read it but man, I just couldn’t do the writing style. It was confusing and jumpy and I had the hardest time following or trying to understand what the author was trying to portray. I couldn’t tell what emotions I was supposed to be feeling by certain encounters. The perspective changing wasn’t handled well and a lot of background info was thrown in with no setup or context and was hard to follow. Others who have liked the book have mentioned the ‘poetic’ writing as a factor. To each his own. To me, an example of poetic writing is The Book Thief. This didn’t feel poetic. Just because you use one word sentences and run on sentences and big beautiful words doesn’t make it poetic. I don’t read it and say ‘This is so so confusing so it must be so deep that I can’t grasp the importance and intentionality.’ Who would? What’s the point of poetic writing if it doesn’t illicit emotion or take the reader on the proper journey? I was frustrated because I wanted to see it through and I want to see where it goes but I just can’t take the writing. I can only read so many books in a year and I didn’t want to continue wasting my time to read something that just frustrated me.
**Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and I’m sorry I couldn’t give a better review for this one**
See more reviews at www.shelfreflection.com!
**Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and I’m sorry I couldn’t give a better review for this one**
See more reviews at www.shelfreflection.com!
DNF - I couldn't get into this one. The cover art was beautiful, and the concept intriguing. But the writing style was too chaotic for me. It followed no logical order, we jumped character POVs with no explanation, and entire paragraphs seemed out of place. I guess this book was simply not for me.
An unexpected gem, read in an incredible translation. Beautiful images of vaguely familiar landscapes. Thoughtful, unadorned prose and very unique settings. The Margaretha home for pregnant girls couldn't be further away from the Irish Magdalen laundries. Then the traveling circus and the people leaving it, joining it, leaving again. The heartache of what the sea takes. The barest backstories of the nuns. All the personal relationships felt very real. Very highly recommended.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
This book is wonderful. It is an unforgettable story about shattered lives, picking up the pieces, and using sorrow to forge a new path.
Set in 1878, it is the story of an unforeseen tragedy that takes the lives of innocent children, The bereaved mother finds strength and solidarity and support from two other women. The women are at different stages of motherhood, but they find common ground and come to rely on each other. They share their stories of joy and loss, motherhood and marriage, journeys begun and promises broken.
Lotte has lost her children to the unforgiving treachery of Nature. Sabine is the mother of a grown daughter, trying to make a place for herself in the new reality of a childless home. Tilli is facing the greatest challenge of her life - giving birth alone, as an unwed mother.
The intricately woven plot bears all of the signatures of Hegi's evocative writing - lush description, deep explorations of family and faith, and scenes of tender remonstrance and bonding.
This book is wonderful. It is an unforgettable story about shattered lives, picking up the pieces, and using sorrow to forge a new path.
Set in 1878, it is the story of an unforeseen tragedy that takes the lives of innocent children, The bereaved mother finds strength and solidarity and support from two other women. The women are at different stages of motherhood, but they find common ground and come to rely on each other. They share their stories of joy and loss, motherhood and marriage, journeys begun and promises broken.
Lotte has lost her children to the unforgiving treachery of Nature. Sabine is the mother of a grown daughter, trying to make a place for herself in the new reality of a childless home. Tilli is facing the greatest challenge of her life - giving birth alone, as an unwed mother.
The intricately woven plot bears all of the signatures of Hegi's evocative writing - lush description, deep explorations of family and faith, and scenes of tender remonstrance and bonding.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide