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timsspace's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Really enjoyed reading this book. The way the main character’s past is revealed is very good. Slowly, at unexpected points, unsettling details are revealed and her family’s tragedy unfolds itself. There are no big turns or twists. It was very consistent but told in an engaging way, switching back and forth from the past to the present seamlessly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Mental illness
annajjed's review against another edition
5.0
Echt het beste nederlandse psychologische roman die ik ooit heb gelezen wow. De manier waarop haar gebroken, rouwende kant op papier wordt gezet is ongelofelijk emotievol. Veel diepe quotes gehighlight.
marsreadssometimes's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a very good read the plot twists were amazing and although they didn't manage to catch me off guard they were beautifully done. Unfortunately it was not a very memorable book.
kate_elizabeth's review
2.0
This book is well-written and it flows nicely but good lord, it's dark and depressing. Left it in a hotel room and hope sincerely whoever picks it up is in a good place emotionally.
yyunnoo_'s review
5.0
Yes that's right 5 stars because I was constantly thinking about this book, it was always in the back of my mind. I didn't want to finish it and at the same time I wanted to know what was going to happen because I was so involved with the characters. I didn't really connect with them but I was involved in their story and that's sometimes better for it.
The family dynamic is disturbing yet is so layered that it looks like a normal family for the readers and I think that was the author's point of it. A family can look super normal on the outside yet for the members it can feel dangerous and unsafe behind the 4 walls of a house.
Ellen is a strong yet unstable character that sometimes is really unfair towards other people but since she survived this family trauma you kind of forgive her for it (although it's kind of a hard pill to swallow because you really shouldn't forgive people to much; who do shitty things when they survived horrible stuff). I liked how Billie and Kes where there but not in a weird cringy way like it's sometimes in TV-shows, they were like her consience. I wish her siblings would've gotten more depth but then it would've been a much bigger book (not that I'd mind because I still need some answers!)
The writing style was just so gorgeous, so layered and yet so simple that it just made you wanne keep reading, on and on and on! There's just something mystical about it because it's kind of vague but it makes you think about what's happening and figure stuff out for yourself !
So all in all, I would deffinitly recommend this for sure !!
The family dynamic is disturbing yet is so layered that it looks like a normal family for the readers and I think that was the author's point of it. A family can look super normal on the outside yet for the members it can feel dangerous and unsafe behind the 4 walls of a house.
Ellen is a strong yet unstable character that sometimes is really unfair towards other people but since she survived this family trauma you kind of forgive her for it (although it's kind of a hard pill to swallow because you really shouldn't forgive people to much; who do shitty things when they survived horrible stuff). I liked how Billie and Kes where there but not in a weird cringy way like it's sometimes in TV-shows, they were like her consience. I wish her siblings would've gotten more depth but then it would've been a much bigger book (not that I'd mind because I still need some answers!)
The writing style was just so gorgeous, so layered and yet so simple that it just made you wanne keep reading, on and on and on! There's just something mystical about it because it's kind of vague but it makes you think about what's happening and figure stuff out for yourself !
So all in all, I would deffinitly recommend this for sure !!
san_in_ca's review
4.0
This was one of the books that I randomly picked up at a thrift store a long while ago and which was sitting on my bookshelf. I didn’t even realize it was a translated book from an originally Dutch author until I started reading it. The book tells the heart-wrenching story of Ellen and what happened to her and her family. Ellen buys back the home where her parents operated a news-clipping service when she was a child. Only gradually do the secrets unfold about what happened there, only gradually do we understand what she is struggling with. The seamless weaving together of the past and present, of 12-year old Ellen telling the story and 37-year old Ellen struggling with the tragic fate of her family, is very well done and made me not want to put the book down until I knew all that had happened.
cac03's review
3.0
character development good - storyline disturbing - didn't love Ellen (narrator) as an adult..... just sad
nferre's review
Oh dear. I am the one dissenter of all those who read this, but I have to say I just didn't like it. I found it disturbing but unresolved, I found it difficult to understand the adult Ellen and would have liked to have a longer narrative on her young adult life instead of the few glimpses that Dorrestein gave us. At times I just could not connect to the father and other siblings in the story either. The story was chilling and very suspenseful, but just fell a bit short for me.
Have PMd rrrcaron and will be sending out this week! Thanks bestfriends for organizing this!
Have PMd rrrcaron and will be sending out this week! Thanks bestfriends for organizing this!
bakybook's review against another edition
5.0
“Zdravo. Ja sam Ellen i imam 2 brata i 2 sestre, mislim, bar sam imala... Dvoje još čujem ponekad.. Ovo je priča o mojoj obitelji i njenom padu... A sve je počelo kad su nam roditelji rekli da ćemo dobiti petu bebu... “
Ovo je moja verzija početka romana koji me je istovremeno oduševio i emocionalno iscrpio. Priča o 39-godišnjoj doktorici patologije i njenom hladnom stavu prema okrutnim događajima u njenom životu i njenim pokušajima da jednostavno sve izbriše, ali prošlost ne može nestati.
"Kameno srce" je teško opisati a da se ne otkriju važni djelovi romana, jer već na početku više, manje znamo kraj. Čitajući Ellenino prisjećanje strašnih događaja odmah vidimo zbrkano stanje njenog uma. Konstantno preskakanje radnje iz prošlosti u sadašnjost i Ellenini pokušaji vraćanja radnje u pravilan tijek događaja mogu zbuniti čitaoce, ali da je knjiga pisana na neki drugi način vjerujem da ne bi postigla isti učinak.
Autorici čestitam na briljantnoj psihološkoj karakterizaciji likova. Cijeli roman sam preplakala i osjećala bol za Ellen i njenu obitelj, iako Ellen sama nije znala kako.
A najviše čestitam autorici na hrabrosti za pisanje jednog tako teškog oblika postpartalne depresije i psihoze. Tema koja se premalo obrađuje i za koju svi trebaju znati. Nije to nešto što žene umisle. Nije to nešto što žene izvode. To je fizičko stanje/bolest koja se lako liječi ako se simptomi uoče na vrijeme. A ako ne, može dovesti do katastrofalnih događaja, poput ovih opisanih u romanu.
Ovaj roman me je emocionalno iscrpio, jako mi je teško pao. Ali sam i oduševljena njime i svima bih ga preporučila.
Ovo je moja verzija početka romana koji me je istovremeno oduševio i emocionalno iscrpio. Priča o 39-godišnjoj doktorici patologije i njenom hladnom stavu prema okrutnim događajima u njenom životu i njenim pokušajima da jednostavno sve izbriše, ali prošlost ne može nestati.
"Kameno srce" je teško opisati a da se ne otkriju važni djelovi romana, jer već na početku više, manje znamo kraj. Čitajući Ellenino prisjećanje strašnih događaja odmah vidimo zbrkano stanje njenog uma. Konstantno preskakanje radnje iz prošlosti u sadašnjost i Ellenini pokušaji vraćanja radnje u pravilan tijek događaja mogu zbuniti čitaoce, ali da je knjiga pisana na neki drugi način vjerujem da ne bi postigla isti učinak.
Autorici čestitam na briljantnoj psihološkoj karakterizaciji likova. Cijeli roman sam preplakala i osjećala bol za Ellen i njenu obitelj, iako Ellen sama nije znala kako.
A najviše čestitam autorici na hrabrosti za pisanje jednog tako teškog oblika postpartalne depresije i psihoze. Tema koja se premalo obrađuje i za koju svi trebaju znati. Nije to nešto što žene umisle. Nije to nešto što žene izvode. To je fizičko stanje/bolest koja se lako liječi ako se simptomi uoče na vrijeme. A ako ne, može dovesti do katastrofalnih događaja, poput ovih opisanih u romanu.
Ovaj roman me je emocionalno iscrpio, jako mi je teško pao. Ali sam i oduševljena njime i svima bih ga preporučila.