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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Loved it! The vivid descriptions of everything, I felt like I was inside of the book. The way she wrote about childhood, how particular those memories feel. How different the young and old Elaine sound while reading, yet older Elaine is still so influenced by what she picked up on as a child.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
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
dark
reflective
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There were certain parts that were very memorable and gut wrenching. I liked the style of writing at times, but other times it got stale. I liked the structure of the storytelling - the way it was told through flashbacks leading up to this big art exhibition. I found the theme of traumas of girlhood relatable and a topic that doesn’t get written about enough. Halfway through I started getting frustrated with Elaine and felt like the whole book was about a pick-me woman, but I think that’s kind of the point. She’s driven to have this horrible relationship with girls and women because of her past traumas. As someone who went to art school I also appreciated her depiction of the art world. Objectively this is a really good book but I think it was too slow for my taste and I didn’t like the writing style/main character enough for the pace
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Self harm
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Hot Take™️ this was more upsetting than Handmaid’s Tale
نوشته پشت کتاب که اینجا هم در توضیحاتش اومده کافی نیست و حتی کمی اشتباهه. بله این خانم نقاش برای برگزاری نمایشگاه مرور آثار به شهر زادگاهش برمیگرده ولی خاطراتی که مرور میکنه صرفا درباره هنرش یا تجربه‌‌های سیاسیش نیستن. بخش زیادی از کتاب مربوط به دوران کودکی و نوجوانیشه و برای من یک تصویر خیلی نزدیک به واقعیت بود از حضور در این جهان و مشاهده ی این جهان با روح، ذهن، قلب و بدنی زنانه. نزدیک به واقعیت و با به زحمت برداشتن همون برچسب‌های زن بودن و مبارزه براش. فقط بودن. وجود داشتن. واقعیت داشتن. .
هشدار احتمال اسپویل:
رابطه پیچیده و مبهم الین با کردلیا واقعا مجذوب کننده و جالب بود.گاهی انگار چیزی شبیه اولین عشق. در لایه لایه لایه لایه‌های تاریک.
هشدار احتمال اسپویل:
رابطه پیچیده و مبهم الین با کردلیا واقعا مجذوب کننده و جالب بود.گاهی انگار چیزی شبیه اولین عشق. در لایه لایه لایه لایه‌های تاریک.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Very middle of the road for me. I found some aspects very interesting: the views into the past, the childhood memories, the set-up of a middle-aged woman looking back over the years, the mystery of what happened with Cordelia. But at the same time, the story didn't engage me too much. In the second half of the book, I kept wanting to know more than what I was given, and that was quite frustrating.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism
Heel moeilijk om iets over dit boek te zeggen. Aan de ene kant kabbelt het verhaal door zonder dat er iets spectaculairs gebeurt. Aan de andere kant zit het vol met kleine, goed beschreven observaties. Het verhaal van Elaine, een schilderes, zoals ze het zelf noemt, Elaine gaat terug naar Toronto, de stad die ze heeft verlaten toen ze ongeveer 40 was. Maar ze gaat ook terug naar haar kindertijd, de tijd van 'vriendinnen' clubje met Grace, Carol en Cordelia. En de tijd waarin ze door deze groep vreselijk werd behandeld, zoals alleen kinderen dat kunnen. Naar de tijd van haar eerste schreden op het kunstenaarschap. De tijd van het ontdekken van liefde en mannen. En ze gaat vooral op zoek naar Cordelia, die ze meent te zien op elke hoek van elke straat.
Het is een verhaal dat op een prachtige manier de dagelijkse dingen beschrijft. De wasmachine met wringer, het punnikklosje, dat soort kleine dingen zijn allemaal zo herkenbaar dat je ze leest met een nostalgische glimlach om je mond.
Het is een verhaal dat op een prachtige manier de dagelijkse dingen beschrijft. De wasmachine met wringer, het punnikklosje, dat soort kleine dingen zijn allemaal zo herkenbaar dat je ze leest met een nostalgische glimlach om je mond.