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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Beautifully written but wayyy too much going on here for me - the Oedipus complex, the secret language between Sarah and Gretel, the fantasy element of the Bonak etc. I didn’t feel any of these things are developed enough to do them justice - to me it felt like 3 different ideas for books shoehorned together. Having said that I did enjoy it, lots of twists and turns kept me reading!
Some parts of this book were so beautifully written and affecting it made me have a proper cathartic cry - which is a good thing I guess because it had been a while.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Dementia, Abandonment
Moderate: Deadnaming, Dysphoria
Minor: Alcohol
About halfway through, I put this book aside to read other things. I wasn’t sure if I’d finish it, but one night before sleep, I picked it up again because it was close by. Before that time, I’d already read what I thought of as the big “reveal” and any tension I might’ve felt from the story had leaked away. A reveal to the reader was likely not Johnson’s intention, but by the time the characters figure out what’s happened, their comprehension felt superfluous, at least to me.
Without spoilers, I can say the fate of a main (though ultimately peripheral) character seemed a throwaway event. In fact, all the characters—except for the narrator and her mother—were dropped easily when they were no longer needed. The only theme, or philosophical message, I received from the work is that it’s impossible to escape your fate; if anyone tries to help you do so, it will happen anyway, and everyone will suffer. Even that theme seems peripheral to the story of the two main characters.
Johnson writes well, though her style doesn’t necessarily appeal to me. Even though she gives her rendering some (superficial?) twists, perhaps it would’ve better served her not to be constrained by a retelling of an ancient story.
Without spoilers, I can say the fate of a main (though ultimately peripheral) character seemed a throwaway event. In fact, all the characters—except for the narrator and her mother—were dropped easily when they were no longer needed. The only theme, or philosophical message, I received from the work is that it’s impossible to escape your fate; if anyone tries to help you do so, it will happen anyway, and everyone will suffer. Even that theme seems peripheral to the story of the two main characters.
Johnson writes well, though her style doesn’t necessarily appeal to me. Even though she gives her rendering some (superficial?) twists, perhaps it would’ve better served her not to be constrained by a retelling of an ancient story.
This was a strange and unsettling book that took me a while to get into, but once I'd found the rhythm of the prose I found it absorbing and finished it in a day. The narrative and narrator are unreliable as are the other characters and the book is fraught with mysteries and moments of revelation both for the characters and the reader. It's quite mythic in theme, although played out on a much more domestic scale.
1. This rating has more to do with my preferences than the book itself. Magical realism just isn't my thing. The writing is gorgeous, though.
2. Other reviews and blurbs will tell you that this is a retelling of the myth of [redacted]. If you hate spoilers, I highly recommend avoiding all reviews (except this one, I run a spoiler-free zone).
3. Speaking of myths, it was an odd quirk of my library hold queue that had me reading this right after Madeline Miller's Circe, which I loved.
2. Other reviews and blurbs will tell you that this is a retelling of the myth of [redacted]. If you hate spoilers, I highly recommend avoiding all reviews (except this one, I run a spoiler-free zone).
3. Speaking of myths, it was an odd quirk of my library hold queue that had me reading this right after Madeline Miller's Circe, which I loved.
“But sometimes I wonder if you are right and if all of our choices are remnants of all the choices we made before. As if decisions were shards from the bombs of our previous actions.”
Everything Under by Daisy Johnson is a tale of untold stories, carrying a torrent of words which will leave you unsettled. A story that takes us back and forth in time, told through multiple narratives and perspectives, connecting the pieces together immaculately.
Everything Under by Daisy Johnson is a tale of untold stories, carrying a torrent of words which will leave you unsettled. A story that takes us back and forth in time, told through multiple narratives and perspectives, connecting the pieces together immaculately.
loved Sisters, so had high hopes for this book. overall was good but slightly hard to follow and a little slower than i was expecting
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No