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nialiversuch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Medical content
Moderate: Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Police brutality, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Cancer, and Terminal illness
blackcatlouise's review against another edition
3.0
I have absolutely loved the other novels by Sarah Moss but I felt a bit lukewarm towards this one.
I got very interested in Elizabeth who is brought up by a religious strict parent, I thought there would be some resolution to her story when she married an artist and became a mother but this story was abruptly abandoned and we changed protagonist to Elizabeth's now teenage daughter.
I found it hard to reconnect with the plot for a while and didn't like that Elizabeth became a cliché of a cruel and heartless mother when I had hoped for so much for her.
The connection to Night Waking is extremely tenuous so I found that let me down a little too.
On the plus side Ally became a character that I really cared about and I loved following her story as she fights to become a doctor. I thought even the minor characters were interesting and believable. I thought the writing was beautiful and loved it throughout. If it hadn't been for the lovely prose I probably would have ditched this novel which would have been a shame.
Three and a half stars from me.
If
I got very interested in Elizabeth who is brought up by a religious strict parent, I thought there would be some resolution to her story when she married an artist and became a mother but this story was abruptly abandoned and we changed protagonist to Elizabeth's now teenage daughter.
I found it hard to reconnect with the plot for a while and didn't like that Elizabeth became a cliché of a cruel and heartless mother when I had hoped for so much for her.
The connection to Night Waking is extremely tenuous so I found that let me down a little too.
On the plus side Ally became a character that I really cared about and I loved following her story as she fights to become a doctor. I thought even the minor characters were interesting and believable. I thought the writing was beautiful and loved it throughout. If it hadn't been for the lovely prose I probably would have ditched this novel which would have been a shame.
Three and a half stars from me.
If
lissilissi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
wjcsydney's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant, disturbing novel. Moss combines artists of the Pre-Raphaelite period with medicine, feminism and religious fanaticism in a coming of age account that is quite unlike anything I have read.
I loved it.
I loved it.
tomistro's review against another edition
5.0
Ihan ensimmäiseksi täytyy sanoa, että Sarah Mossin romaanin Bodies of Lightin kansi on erinomaisen onnistunut. Se on hyvännäköinen itsessään ja se sopii kirjaansa täydellisesti: myös sisältä avautuva tarina on kaunis, herkkä, monisyinen ja monivärinen.
Nuoripari menee naimisiin ja kumpikaan ei oikein tiedä miten siinä, toisen kanssa, olisi, koska ei ole koskaan aikaisemmin ollut. Kaikki on uutta, kun muuttaa pois kotoaan suoraan toisen ihmisen luokse. Kirja ei kuitenkaan kerro heistä, vaan heidän lapsistaan, joille vanhemmat (erityisesti äiti) yrittävät pedata parempia oloja kuin itselleen. Parempaa tulevaisuutta, enemmän mahdollisuuksia.
Mutta koska tapahtumapaikka on 1800-luvun Englanti, ei parempi ole sama asia kuin helpompi, vaan oikeastaan päinvastoin. Tiukka kuri hallitsee, hillitty on paras asia mitä ihminen voi olla.
Bodies of Light on hieno kuvaus jäykästä, kuria korostavasta moraalijärjestelmästä ja siitä miten se hallitsee ihmisen elämää. Edelliseltä sukupolvelta opittu kuri sisäistetään ja äidin ääni asettuu lapsen sisälle asumaan. Ulkoinen maailma on jäykkä, mutta vielä jäykempää on itsensä kontrollointi ja rajoittaminen. Miten pyristellä eroon yhteiskunnan kahleista, kun sisällä jylläävät vielä tiukemmat normit?
Romaani peilaa yhtä hyvin nykyaikaa kuin 1800-luvun Englantia ja vaikka minun (kolmekymppisen 2020-luvulla elävän cis-miehen) elämäni on hyvin erilainen kuin kirjan henkilöiden, samastumispintaa tunteiden kontrolloinnista ja vastuunkannon ja kärsimyksen ihannoinnista löytyy paljon. Kiinnostavaa on toki myös ajankuva: naisten oikeuksien kamppailu, köyhyyden ja ylemmän keskiluokan väliset suhteet, maalaustaide, tapetit ja vaatteet.
Luin viime vuonna Sarah Mossin uusimman romaanin Ghost Wall ja se vakuutti minut siitä, että muutkin Mossin kirjat kannattaa lukea. Bodies of Lightin jälkeen olen entistä vakuuttuneempi.
Hieno kirjailija, hieno kirja.
Nuoripari menee naimisiin ja kumpikaan ei oikein tiedä miten siinä, toisen kanssa, olisi, koska ei ole koskaan aikaisemmin ollut. Kaikki on uutta, kun muuttaa pois kotoaan suoraan toisen ihmisen luokse. Kirja ei kuitenkaan kerro heistä, vaan heidän lapsistaan, joille vanhemmat (erityisesti äiti) yrittävät pedata parempia oloja kuin itselleen. Parempaa tulevaisuutta, enemmän mahdollisuuksia.
Mutta koska tapahtumapaikka on 1800-luvun Englanti, ei parempi ole sama asia kuin helpompi, vaan oikeastaan päinvastoin. Tiukka kuri hallitsee, hillitty on paras asia mitä ihminen voi olla.
Bodies of Light on hieno kuvaus jäykästä, kuria korostavasta moraalijärjestelmästä ja siitä miten se hallitsee ihmisen elämää. Edelliseltä sukupolvelta opittu kuri sisäistetään ja äidin ääni asettuu lapsen sisälle asumaan. Ulkoinen maailma on jäykkä, mutta vielä jäykempää on itsensä kontrollointi ja rajoittaminen. Miten pyristellä eroon yhteiskunnan kahleista, kun sisällä jylläävät vielä tiukemmat normit?
Romaani peilaa yhtä hyvin nykyaikaa kuin 1800-luvun Englantia ja vaikka minun (kolmekymppisen 2020-luvulla elävän cis-miehen) elämäni on hyvin erilainen kuin kirjan henkilöiden, samastumispintaa tunteiden kontrolloinnista ja vastuunkannon ja kärsimyksen ihannoinnista löytyy paljon. Kiinnostavaa on toki myös ajankuva: naisten oikeuksien kamppailu, köyhyyden ja ylemmän keskiluokan väliset suhteet, maalaustaide, tapetit ja vaatteet.
Luin viime vuonna Sarah Mossin uusimman romaanin Ghost Wall ja se vakuutti minut siitä, että muutkin Mossin kirjat kannattaa lukea. Bodies of Lightin jälkeen olen entistä vakuuttuneempi.
Hieno kirjailija, hieno kirja.
yarnylibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Another gorgeous novel by Sarah Moss. I read [b:Signs for Lost Children|25761811|Signs for Lost Children|Sarah Moss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435791760l/25761811._SY75_.jpg|45606899] first, not realizing there is a sequence. This book precedes it in time, starting with Elizabeth and Alfred Moberley's marriage and focusing mostly on their eldest child Ally's childhood, adolescence, and medical school years. The end of this novel contains much of the same text as Signs for Lost Children, which is interesting. There is more detail in Signs (including a lot more about Tom Cavendish), but some of the paragraphs in this book are exactly the same. In other words, the narratives overlap.
I am becoming a huge fan of Sarah Moss and really admire the way she represents the interior life of her female characters. Here is one small example, to give you a sense of her style. The setting is Victorian-era Manchester:
It was difficult to read about the emotional and physical abuse heaped on Ally by her mother, and also notable that her sister May did not seem to be a target of the same scrutiny. For whatever reason, May always saw the situation more clearly and avoided her mother's attention. Ally recognizes the difference between the sisters: "Mamma's fury is the weather in Ally's mind, more and less alarming but always there, always to be taken into account. It doesn't seem to be like that for May" (174). Regarding May, though, I am left wondering (as I was in Signs) if anything untoward happened between May and their father's artist-friend Aubrey. Perhaps I'll learn that when I get to [b:Night Waking|9959239|Night Waking|Sarah Moss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328051620l/9959239._SY75_.jpg|14853092]. I have been thinking about the phrase "the weather in one's mind" ever since reading it.
This novel explores the idea of "hysteria" in Victorian women, and whether it is even real: "Mamma's view [is] that hysteria is a disorder of over-indulgence, found only in idle, wealthy and usually unmarried women, often imitated by young girls wishing to gain attention. It is worth noting that factory girls and busy housewives who have no servants to do their work for them appear immune to nervous troubles" (118). Of course, this isn't true - one important but missing detail is that factory girls and busy housewives do not consult medical specialists.
Generally, this narrative becomes happier as it progresses, the further Ally distances herself from Mamma. After the trauma in the earlier sections, it was such a joy to see Aunt Mary and fellow medical student Annie truly see and value Ally as the extraordinary person she is.
I could go on and on about this book, but instead, I will endeavor to get my hands on another one by Sarah Moss!
I am becoming a huge fan of Sarah Moss and really admire the way she represents the interior life of her female characters. Here is one small example, to give you a sense of her style. The setting is Victorian-era Manchester:
They walk quietly, but the scuffle of shoe leather on glazed clay hurtles between the stone walls. She thinks of the work in the thousands of tiles under her feet, the digging and tempering of the earth, the layering of fine and coarse clay, the design and preparation of motifs, the making of the slip. The hardest part of making tiles, Papa says, is to get them flat and keep them that way. The fires of the kiln will find and magnify the slightest weakness or error. (114-15)
It was difficult to read about the emotional and physical abuse heaped on Ally by her mother, and also notable that her sister May did not seem to be a target of the same scrutiny. For whatever reason, May always saw the situation more clearly and avoided her mother's attention. Ally recognizes the difference between the sisters: "Mamma's fury is the weather in Ally's mind, more and less alarming but always there, always to be taken into account. It doesn't seem to be like that for May" (174). Regarding May, though, I am left wondering (as I was in Signs) if anything untoward happened between May and their father's artist-friend Aubrey. Perhaps I'll learn that when I get to [b:Night Waking|9959239|Night Waking|Sarah Moss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328051620l/9959239._SY75_.jpg|14853092]. I have been thinking about the phrase "the weather in one's mind" ever since reading it.
This novel explores the idea of "hysteria" in Victorian women, and whether it is even real: "Mamma's view [is] that hysteria is a disorder of over-indulgence, found only in idle, wealthy and usually unmarried women, often imitated by young girls wishing to gain attention. It is worth noting that factory girls and busy housewives who have no servants to do their work for them appear immune to nervous troubles" (118). Of course, this isn't true - one important but missing detail is that factory girls and busy housewives do not consult medical specialists.
Generally, this narrative becomes happier as it progresses, the further Ally distances herself from Mamma. After the trauma in the earlier sections, it was such a joy to see Aunt Mary and fellow medical student Annie truly see and value Ally as the extraordinary person she is.
I could go on and on about this book, but instead, I will endeavor to get my hands on another one by Sarah Moss!
zibby's review against another edition
3.0
A tricky one to review (really it's a 3.5)
I admired greatly the subject matter and the complexity of the characters relationships to the gender, identity, family relationship, reason and morality. And the structure of having a painting described at the opening of each chapter and the eventual reveal of the circumstances of its creation was a neat one which created a thread throughout the narrative time jumps. However the passivity of the main character was for me midly irratating (although part of her character) she chooses very little in the process of the novel, perhaps a comment on the real women's lives in the Victoria times, but in a novel it makes for a difficult read to sustain. There was something too in the writing that I struggled with, that prevented me from connected as strongly to the characters I wanted too.
I'd still reccomend this, as a book which features a majority of complicated, nuanced women grappling with their gender roles in a constraining society it makes for an interesting read.
I admired greatly the subject matter and the complexity of the characters relationships to the gender, identity, family relationship, reason and morality. And the structure of having a painting described at the opening of each chapter and the eventual reveal of the circumstances of its creation was a neat one which created a thread throughout the narrative time jumps. However the passivity of the main character was for me midly irratating (although part of her character) she chooses very little in the process of the novel, perhaps a comment on the real women's lives in the Victoria times, but in a novel it makes for a difficult read to sustain. There was something too in the writing that I struggled with, that prevented me from connected as strongly to the characters I wanted too.
I'd still reccomend this, as a book which features a majority of complicated, nuanced women grappling with their gender roles in a constraining society it makes for an interesting read.
caffee's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating and thought provoking, troubled but determined Ally is worth you're time, this will linger with me a long time.
debbiemv's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rosiev425's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25