Reviews

Die Clique by Mary McCarthy

proseandpostre's review against another edition

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3.0

If I could I'd give this book 3 1/2 stars instead of just the 3! I felt completely transported to the 30's & 40's while reading this. It's great when a book makes you feel like somehow you are there, rubbing elbows with these characters. I can see how controversial this book must've been in it's day and I commend Mary McCarthy for being a courageous WOMAN and sharing this with us!!

martaaraqui's review against another edition

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3.0

Una vez más, una novela que tenía pendiente desde hace tiempo y pensaba que me encantaría, pero que se me ha acabado haciendo larga y me ha aburrido en varios momentos.

rstafeil's review against another edition

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2.0

I was so looking forward to this book about a group of women who graduated from Vassar in the 30s. Unfortunately, I struggled to get through it and at the end regret the time I spend reading it. I had a hard time keeping track of the various characters and even more bothersome, didn't like most of them. I was looking forward to following their lives and careers, but each was shown so sporadically. Maybe its a generational gap, but I don't feel like most of the struggles and experiences were shown in a very realistic way.

katdid's review against another edition

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3.0

At the same time, paradoxically, she still felt their love affair had not quite finished: it lived somewhere underground, between them, growing in the dark as people's hair and fingernails grew after their death.


Probably 3.5 stars.

Man, I was so into this book at the beginning; it was completely in my wheelhouse, what with Dick’s scandalous chat to Dottie at Kay’s wedding and the introduction of the various members of the “group”; and I really liked how the narrative switched to the different characters as it moved along. Unfortunately I think that device was also the book’s weakness because any reader is always going to be more interested in certain characters than others, and I kinda ran out of steam with it around the halfway point.

januaryreads's review against another edition

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4.0

A great book, that has aged remarkably well, while also giving wonderful insight into women's lives in the '30s. It's well-written, and despite the many different perspectives you get, another every one or two chapters, I never found myself wanting to skip ahead; McCarthy never lost my interest.

sofialibrary_sofia's review against another edition

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3.0

Publicado originalmente em 1963 este livro foi pioneiro a abordar algumas temáticas que eram tabu na altura, nomeadamente sexo, contracepção, maternidade e casamento.

É sobre a vida de 8 jovens licenciadas nos anos 30 numa das mais elitistas universidades americanas.

São muitas, muito complexas, com percursos de vida distintos, de níveis sociais diferentes mas com um objectivo comum de seguirem caminhos alternativos aos dos seus pais.

As oito personagens e a forma como a autora optou por introduzi-las, logo de uma vez e explicando episódios de cada uma ao longo do livro, torna o livro muito confuso desde início e não foi a melhor forma (na minha opinião) de cativar o leitor.

O livro acaba por ser de leitura lenta, capítulos muito longos, com ideias muito repetitivas e assuntos menos relevantes explorados ao detalhe, o que, para mim, se tornou muito difícil, pensei inclusivamente em desistir algumas vezes.

Entendo perfeitamente que tenha marcado uma geração, e que, à altura em que surgiu, tenha sido revolucionário e que até possa ter influenciado algumas mulheres à data a tomarem decisões importantes e a ‘evoluírem’ de forma diferente.
Entendo perfeitamente a mensagem da história sendo inclusivamente o ideal de vida, as dificuldades e alegrias daquelas mulheres muito semelhantes com as de hoje em dia.

No entanto, a escrita não se revelou fácil para mim. Talvez não seja um livro que se adore à primeira, é um livro que se vai aprendendo a gostar à medida que se lê mais de uma vez, com calma e disponibilidade.

julesmathhart's review against another edition

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

5.0

djhalp111's review against another edition

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Too much irrelevant detail. Slow 

indiqoblue's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 | Den är stundtals väldigt bra och intressant. Vissa delar läser jag med ett enormt flyt eftersom McCarthy skriver på ett så levande och spännande sätt. Däremot är vissa delar långsamma och inte i samma klass.

Möjligtvis beror det på att det är många karaktärer att hålla reda på. Ibland fick jag stanna upp för att komma på vem ”nu detta var”. Dock fanns det vissa karaktärer som hade större plats i boken och därför stannade kvar längre. Det tror jag att historien kommer att göra hos mig också. Det är en speciell berättelse där kvinnorna är i centrum trots att deras olika kärleksintressen och män också har stora roller.

Att kvinnorna är i centrum skriver Sara Danius om i förordet till boken. Jag läser aldrig förord men gjorde så nu eftersom jag hade blivit rekommenderad att göra det. Förordet gav historien en längre betydelse och fick mig att uppskatta den på ett annat sätt. Det visar nog hur viktiga paratexter är ibland.

Det är en fin historia som jag tror kommer att stanna kvar hos mig. Jag blir sugen på att läsa om den eftersom jag tror att min oregelbundna läsning kan ha påverkat mitt omdöme. Det känns fint när jag tänker på att Gruppen finns kvar i min bokhylla tills nästa gång jag vill läsa om dem.

valjohnson's review against another edition

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3.0

Quit reading 2/3 way thought