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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
The creepiness of houseboats has been VERY underutilized, I realize.
Het boek dreigde op een gegeven moment naar *** te zakken (of erger)... Vermoedelijk omdat ik er aan begonnen was aan het einde van de fietsvakantie, en ik daarna geloof ik even teveel had gelezen, waardoor het moeilijk was "in" het boek te blijven.
Maar uiteindelijk toch wel **** - de combinatie van een riviermonster (of toch niet?), een zij-of-toch-hij, een hij-of-toch-zij, plus een vleugje Oedipus, plus fijne taal gaf uiteindelijk de doorslag. En dat kwam vast doordat ik even eerst wat lichte kost tussendoor heb gelezen voor hier weer in te duiken.
Maar uiteindelijk toch wel **** - de combinatie van een riviermonster (of toch niet?), een zij-of-toch-hij, een hij-of-toch-zij, plus een vleugje Oedipus, plus fijne taal gaf uiteindelijk de doorslag. En dat kwam vast doordat ik even eerst wat lichte kost tussendoor heb gelezen voor hier weer in te duiken.
A truly stunning read. I couldn’t put it down.
Didn't finish-- after a couple books whose prose were so strident and clear, i found this too muddy and prosaic. I didn't enjoy the "secret language" motifs, because it seemed like the author was trying to undo language (a very cool concept), but it really just came across as bad metaphors and murky, meaningless descriptors.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read as part of BooksandLala's Buzzwordathon - “thing”: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/0569fc8a-2a28-4c26-90a2-ceaef23d4030
You tell me that you didn’t know and we grow silent and wonder if either of us really believes that.
What on earth did I just read?? This Greek tragedy of a book that explores gender identity, dementia, trauma response, and complicated (to put it mildly) family dynamics feels a BIT all over the place.
Look, there is NO denying that this book is exquisitely written - the prose is stunning.
We become strangers to the places we are born. They would not recognise us but we will always recognise them. They are marrow to us; they are bred into us. If we were turned inside out there would be maps cut into the wrong side of our skin. Just so we could find our way back. Except, cut wrong side into my skin are not canals and train tracks and a boat, but always: you.
The problem is, underneath this gorgeous writing, the story itself seems vacant. There is simply not a developed-enough plot or distinct enough characters to stand up to Daisy Johnson’s word-to-word strength as a writer, or to justify a jumbled plot structure.
This was a mind-warp of a story, confusing, ironically enough, largely as a result of the story at its core not being nearly as complex as Johnson wants us to think it is.
This book is also slow and highly meditative. If the blurb intrigues you, give it a try - though the story evolves, the writing style does not change though out. If you could take the blurb or leave it, just leave it.
The past was not a thread trailing behind us but an anchor.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was... something. Even now I cannot tell whether I liked it or not (too simple an emotion, perhaps). One thing is for sure: this is a very well written book. It contains multitudes of thought, and perhaps it is because the world there is so fundamentally unlike my own that I cannot love it.
You must understand, I think, the world of Gretel and of the boats to even begin to comprehend the depth of this work. Fundamentally, with no other consideration, this book contains (what is most disgusting to me) the fact that the mother, Sarah, had sex with her own son (perhaps knowingly). What a horrible thing to even dream of occurring! Yet the way this book is written, if you fall into the water the way Daisy Johnson takes you, it is not inconceivable but only cruel on the part of Sarah.
I cannot get over her cruelty, really. Every time I think of this book there is something else. She abandoned her first child. She names her second child after the first. She (perhaps knowingly, or at least uncaringly) had sex with her first child. She watched her first child drown and did nothing. She abandoned her second child too. There is an intelligence to her cruelty that is obvious; Sarah is fundamentally a selfish woman and does not bother to attempt otherwise.
One thing I did find a little disappointing (the rest was not disappointing, I just cannot tell if I liked it) was the death of the Bonak. It happened in just a few sentences really - and how can a few sentences adequately sum up ten or more years of life? I know, looking deeper, that Sarah perhaps is the Bonak—but then what of the one she killed? There needed, I think, to be more clarification. That’s my only true complaint. The rest is like life.
You must understand, I think, the world of Gretel and of the boats to even begin to comprehend the depth of this work. Fundamentally, with no other consideration, this book contains (what is most disgusting to me) the fact that the mother, Sarah, had sex with her own son (perhaps knowingly). What a horrible thing to even dream of occurring! Yet the way this book is written, if you fall into the water the way Daisy Johnson takes you, it is not inconceivable but only cruel on the part of Sarah.
I cannot get over her cruelty, really. Every time I think of this book there is something else. She abandoned her first child. She names her second child after the first. She (perhaps knowingly, or at least uncaringly) had sex with her first child. She watched her first child drown and did nothing. She abandoned her second child too. There is an intelligence to her cruelty that is obvious; Sarah is fundamentally a selfish woman and does not bother to attempt otherwise.
One thing I did find a little disappointing (the rest was not disappointing, I just cannot tell if I liked it) was the death of the Bonak. It happened in just a few sentences really - and how can a few sentences adequately sum up ten or more years of life? I know, looking deeper, that Sarah perhaps is the Bonak—but then what of the one she killed? There needed, I think, to be more clarification. That’s my only true complaint. The rest is like life.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A compellingly told story with a dark twist which, towards the end, all slightly crumbles to bits. Still a good read.
This book is bizarre - sometimes in good ways and sometimes in not good ways. The relationship between Gretel and Sarah was the most interesting to me, perhaps because it's the most identifiable and relatable?
The way the story plays with gender is interesting to a point -- though I'm not entirely sure Johnson delves deeply enough into notions of gender beyond what was necessary for the plot to make sense (you'll understand this vague comment when you get to the end, though you'll likely to figure out the prophecy much sooner).
Many times I thought about putting this book down. Ultimately I didn't because I found Gretel's character to be, ultimately, redeeming.
The way the story plays with gender is interesting to a point -- though I'm not entirely sure Johnson delves deeply enough into notions of gender beyond what was necessary for the plot to make sense (you'll understand this vague comment when you get to the end, though you'll likely to figure out the prophecy much sooner).
Many times I thought about putting this book down. Ultimately I didn't because I found Gretel's character to be, ultimately, redeeming.