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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
chato
Maggie Milner's "Couplets" is a wonderful book, a glowing meditation on the self. It’s not exactly a novel, but bears resemblance to one; a single story is told over poems written (deftly, excellently) in rhyming couplets, contrasted with sections of often dreamlike, luminous and vivid prose.
The book follows a woman’s coming into herself, primarily through the lens of her sexuality: her long-term heterosexual relationship implodes when she comes to the realization that she has (for a long time) wanted to sleep with women.
The narrator’s difficulties breaking into a new path of life and leaving a fairly comfortable one behind is a big part of this book; but I think the notion of self-identity is expertly handled, and Milner gets at something deeper and more universal (I’m a little terrified of using that word!) than the narrator’s specific situation. There’s meaningful discourse about what it even means to be a self; the struggle with the individual at large, as almost an institution, bleeds into the question of autobiographical work and the ways culture tells us what we as writers are “allowed” or “supposed” to write about in fiction.
"Couplets" feels like something spun out from a single thread, followed very patiently; it’s the kind of debut one wants to have, something very carefully considered, poems and prose both elegant and musical. A reminder that the principal difficulty of discovering who we are is that no one else can do it for us.
The book follows a woman’s coming into herself, primarily through the lens of her sexuality: her long-term heterosexual relationship implodes when she comes to the realization that she has (for a long time) wanted to sleep with women.
The narrator’s difficulties breaking into a new path of life and leaving a fairly comfortable one behind is a big part of this book; but I think the notion of self-identity is expertly handled, and Milner gets at something deeper and more universal (I’m a little terrified of using that word!) than the narrator’s specific situation. There’s meaningful discourse about what it even means to be a self; the struggle with the individual at large, as almost an institution, bleeds into the question of autobiographical work and the ways culture tells us what we as writers are “allowed” or “supposed” to write about in fiction.
"Couplets" feels like something spun out from a single thread, followed very patiently; it’s the kind of debut one wants to have, something very carefully considered, poems and prose both elegant and musical. A reminder that the principal difficulty of discovering who we are is that no one else can do it for us.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
fast-paced
fast-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I liked the lyrical writing style I found the protagonist to be quite detached which I didn't enjoy. The book remined me of 'In the Dream House'
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence
Fucked me up, holy shit. What did I do to deserve this. Put me though hell and back but ultimately offered me a lot of closure.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
beautiful, truthful, relevant, loving, big. i watch the last five years to get this feeling. i love love, i fear and hate pain, and maggie got all of that down and more.