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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I might return to this book, but I felt uncomfortable with Heti comparing coming out as not having a child to coming out as gay.
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This book reflects the moody swings between sadness, depression, insecurity and joy and sense of belonging.
It reads as a diary and doesn’t follow a plot. The entries meanders between a deep questioning of the meaning of one’s life and some retellings of everyday moments.
Some of the diary entries seem random, but that too had its place in the book as life has its randomness too.
What Heti has perfectly done in this book is to show just how our family histories live in us and how trauma from past generations can be at the centre of a questioning of motherhood.
It reads as a diary and doesn’t follow a plot. The entries meanders between a deep questioning of the meaning of one’s life and some retellings of everyday moments.
Some of the diary entries seem random, but that too had its place in the book as life has its randomness too.
What Heti has perfectly done in this book is to show just how our family histories live in us and how trauma from past generations can be at the centre of a questioning of motherhood.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
medium-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
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book definitely contained some truisms (that I now regret not recording fastidiously), despite not completely understanding what Heti was talking about at parts. But this is sort of a rare instance where it felt ok as the reader to not perfectly grasp the author, only in that as the reader, you are thrust into parts of Heti’s brain that only she will ever understand. Overall it was thought-provoking and weird in a mostly good way, albeit a little self important.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I found thought-provoking insights mixed in with a large dose of tenuos causal leaps and randomness. It's as much about decision paralysis and depression as it is about motherhood. I really enjoyed the unusual structure and irreverence, there's definitely a sense of 'what will she say next?' and the ending is satisfying.
It was definitely a challenge. Mostly it was boring, but here and there I found shining nuggets of wisdom and insight. And I'm grateful for that