Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Soumrak

A searing novel on grief and life after the death of your soulmate. Really beautiful. I struggled to read it quickly as it’s so evocative and Jessie Cave writes with a matter-of-factness which makes you feel like you’re right there with Ruth. The pain of grief is present throughout and I have a lot of respect for the fact this book came from the author’s experience grieving her own brother’s sudden death. It’s a brave piece of work.

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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abbruzzese's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I wish I had stayed up for longer. I wish I had watched her sleeping, I wish we’d had one more chat about nothing or one more episode. I wish I had known.

Holy fuck. I don't think I've ever gotten so worked up, so snotty-nosed, over a book. I was in tears—big, fat, shaking sobs—for most of it. This is so well done, I loved it. But I will never read it again because it hurts too much.

The time jumps were a bit confusing in the beginning, but I wouldn't have wanted it any different. I can't imagine a book about grief organized in a linear, chronological way, as if grief gives a shit about the concept of forward progress or moving on. Ruth's grief is written so honestly—ugly thoughts and bad actions included—that it is physically painful to imagine being her. The writing is simple and relatable, which hurts more as it's so easy to see myself in the story. IMO, Jessie Cave writes similarly to Sally Rooney, but Cave's writing is a million times more tolerable.

I don’t want to get in the car, I can’t leave my sister. But the driver opens the car door and suddenly, I am. I’m leaving her.

I wonder what this book feels like to people without siblings. As someone with two sisters, both younger than me—the Ruths to my Hannah—this book tore me apart. I loved my sisters before I started reading, and I love them now that I've finished, but it's different. Something about being reminded that one day I will lose them hurts so badly and in such a way that the fact that they're still alive and well doesn't fix the ache in me.

Brooke, Eden—I love you.

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