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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
I was the grateful recipient of this book from a giveaway.
This book was lovely and difficult. There is crushing grief and hope. My three star rating comes from how muddled it was. There were too many voices. One or two voices work well, three is a lot. More than that is like drinking from a hydrant.
I do look forward to Hegi's future books. What an imagination.
This book was lovely and difficult. There is crushing grief and hope. My three star rating comes from how muddled it was. There were too many voices. One or two voices work well, three is a lot. More than that is like drinking from a hydrant.
I do look forward to Hegi's future books. What an imagination.
"...perfect for fans of Water for Elephants and The Light Between Oceans.
I think this one is lost on me. I enjoyed Water for Elephants and adored The Light Between Oceans, but The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls fell flat. Certain passages are beautifully written, and have a dreamy quality to them. The writing can feel very fragmented, and sometimes it can seem a teensy bit hard to follow. There are themes of incest, mental difficulties, grief, longing, sex, and love. I had high hopes for Patron, but I should have tempered my expectations. There were certainly be readers who love this book, and others like me who just aren't enraptured. I do appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book courtesy of Flatiron Books.
I think this one is lost on me. I enjoyed Water for Elephants and adored The Light Between Oceans, but The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls fell flat. Certain passages are beautifully written, and have a dreamy quality to them. The writing can feel very fragmented, and sometimes it can seem a teensy bit hard to follow. There are themes of incest, mental difficulties, grief, longing, sex, and love. I had high hopes for Patron, but I should have tempered my expectations. There were certainly be readers who love this book, and others like me who just aren't enraptured. I do appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book courtesy of Flatiron Books.
slow-paced
Ursula Hegi is always so solid. She can tell a heartbreaking story in a heartwarming way. It's a real gift.
This follows a community in the 19th century Fresian Islands, and it is beautiful. Without giving too much away, the main characters are a woman who lost her three children in a freak wave, a child forced into a school for pregnant teenagers, the nuns who run the school and the mother who raised her autistic daughter in a circus. The writing is very flowery, but I enjoyed it. There are a few points where the storyline becomes a little bit muddled, dropped and picked up again in a slightly off way, but that is the only thing I noticed!
"The Old Women lean from their front windows for hours. Pillows between bosoms and windowsills, they let gossip ferment. Across the space between their windows they comment on everyone who passes; click their tongues at couples who walk hand in hand in public; applaud when children play hopscotch or do cartwheels-- just as prior Old Women applauded them when they were little girls-- and in that become children again, living all moments of their lives at once-- child, woman, Old Woman(...) Done with the heavy lifting of life, the Old Women help with the cooking. Help with the grandchildren. Teach them good manners and how to scrape the soles of their shoes and brush off sand so they won't drag it through the house. Still, sand makes it indoors, and the Old Women sweep it away. Sweeping. Always sweeping. Sometimes four generations live in a row house or next door to you. The youngest and the oldest are most revered: the youngest adored; the oldest valued for the wisdom you can read in their faces. As you age, you grow into your true nature: more loving if you are born loving; more envious if you are born envious; more patient if you are born patient; more greedy if you are born greedy. The imprint of your life maps your features."
"The Old Women lean from their front windows for hours. Pillows between bosoms and windowsills, they let gossip ferment. Across the space between their windows they comment on everyone who passes; click their tongues at couples who walk hand in hand in public; applaud when children play hopscotch or do cartwheels-- just as prior Old Women applauded them when they were little girls-- and in that become children again, living all moments of their lives at once-- child, woman, Old Woman(...) Done with the heavy lifting of life, the Old Women help with the cooking. Help with the grandchildren. Teach them good manners and how to scrape the soles of their shoes and brush off sand so they won't drag it through the house. Still, sand makes it indoors, and the Old Women sweep it away. Sweeping. Always sweeping. Sometimes four generations live in a row house or next door to you. The youngest and the oldest are most revered: the youngest adored; the oldest valued for the wisdom you can read in their faces. As you age, you grow into your true nature: more loving if you are born loving; more envious if you are born envious; more patient if you are born patient; more greedy if you are born greedy. The imprint of your life maps your features."
In 1878 a giant wave makes its way to Nordstrand, an island in Germany, and when it recedes it takes with it three young children, devastating their parents and the community. The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls follows three women, Tilli, Sabine, and Lotte, whose children were lost to the Nordsee, as they navigate life after the tragic loss of the three young children. As the women attempt to move on from this tragedy and aid each other, they develop a bond that is soon threatened when Lotte, with her husband, devises a plan to reunite with their lost children in the Nordsee. Under the eye of the Zirkus, can Lotte be pulled from the brink and brought back to reality?
While I enjoyed The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls, there seemed like there was so much that was left unresolved and unconcluded; to me the ending bordered on anticlimactic and I was left wondering where the rest was. I really loved the characters, and they are really what made the novel enjoyable. There is an amazing variety amongst them and some, who are truly authentic to themselves and their personal truths, are almost taboo in nature considering the novel takes place in the 1800s. There were many characters from the Zirkus that I wish I could have read and learned more about, such as Luzia and Pia. There were other characters and sections, such as Maria and the Old Women, that didn't seem to add to the narrative, although the Old Women are amusing. The word choices and narrative flow used by Hegi, at times, was reminiscent of poetry; her words just flow so smoothly and her descriptions are phenomenal. Overall I enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away and I was left unsatisfied by its ending.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and Goodreads for sending me an ARC of The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls by Ursula Hegi, given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
While I enjoyed The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls, there seemed like there was so much that was left unresolved and unconcluded; to me the ending bordered on anticlimactic and I was left wondering where the rest was. I really loved the characters, and they are really what made the novel enjoyable. There is an amazing variety amongst them and some, who are truly authentic to themselves and their personal truths, are almost taboo in nature considering the novel takes place in the 1800s. There were many characters from the Zirkus that I wish I could have read and learned more about, such as Luzia and Pia. There were other characters and sections, such as Maria and the Old Women, that didn't seem to add to the narrative, although the Old Women are amusing. The word choices and narrative flow used by Hegi, at times, was reminiscent of poetry; her words just flow so smoothly and her descriptions are phenomenal. Overall I enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away and I was left unsatisfied by its ending.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and Goodreads for sending me an ARC of The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls by Ursula Hegi, given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
It appears that I couldn't go without reading a book set in the circus for too long. Someone mentioned The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls ages ago and the ebook has been sitting in my iPad for ages. Last week, I decided to randomly pick up a book from my secondary TBR: something that I didn't wait ages to get hyped up for and could just casually read for fun.
Long story short, I read the whole thing in less than 2 hours. I enjoyed the atmospheric writing, the thematic exploration on virtues / sins, and interesting historical backdrop. It's a historical fiction bu Hegi's writing style definitely managed to sprinkle some magical touch in the story. But on the other hand, I found the connections between the multiple POV's a bit lacking and I would have loved to see more pages written about the characters and how they all relate to the circus in the story.
Despite my concerns with the multiple perspectives, I nevertheless found The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls an atmospheric & poetic piece of work. If you like atmospheric writing and are looking for something that doesn't tax too many brain cells, this book is definitely a decent book to read if you're recovering from a book hangover.
Long story short, I read the whole thing in less than 2 hours. I enjoyed the atmospheric writing, the thematic exploration on virtues / sins, and interesting historical backdrop. It's a historical fiction bu Hegi's writing style definitely managed to sprinkle some magical touch in the story. But on the other hand, I found the connections between the multiple POV's a bit lacking and I would have loved to see more pages written about the characters and how they all relate to the circus in the story.
Despite my concerns with the multiple perspectives, I nevertheless found The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls an atmospheric & poetic piece of work. If you like atmospheric writing and are looking for something that doesn't tax too many brain cells, this book is definitely a decent book to read if you're recovering from a book hangover.
I won this copy as a Goodreads Giveaway.
Hegi's words make this book flow with a fairy tale like magic but with darkness and grief at the forefront. I flew through the first half or so, then struggled more to finish. I may re-read this one soon to get a better idea of what I think, but the fact that it leaves me thinking is a good thing.
Hegi's words make this book flow with a fairy tale like magic but with darkness and grief at the forefront. I flew through the first half or so, then struggled more to finish. I may re-read this one soon to get a better idea of what I think, but the fact that it leaves me thinking is a good thing.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Yes