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alanyoung's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a riveting book. In once sense so little happened but the everyday and the unexplained were so sensitively interwoven.
There were glorious touches of honesty and a wonderful depth of feeling.
Highly recommended!
There were glorious touches of honesty and a wonderful depth of feeling.
Highly recommended!
solaana's review against another edition
5.0
The best word for this book is pensive, but at the same time, I remember being surprised by the ending - I was semi-bored and skimming it, and then all of a sudden, Shields throws me for a loop. Good on her.
eososray's review against another edition
2.0
I always feel a twinge of regret when I rate such a well written book so low. That may actually say something bad about the quality of the books I typically read and enjoy?
With a book written such as this one I think it would be necessary to have empathy or something in common with the main character and I felt I had neither. A story about a mother and wife, about her thoughts on life and her husband and her grown daughters, who writes and translates and is a good doctor's wife, gave me nothing to appreciate. I just did not understand her life or her thoughts or her worries. Leaving me unappreciative of the story and bored with the book in general.
With a book written such as this one I think it would be necessary to have empathy or something in common with the main character and I felt I had neither. A story about a mother and wife, about her thoughts on life and her husband and her grown daughters, who writes and translates and is a good doctor's wife, gave me nothing to appreciate. I just did not understand her life or her thoughts or her worries. Leaving me unappreciative of the story and bored with the book in general.
astewart1992's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
adrianlarose's review against another edition
4.0
A lovely book that takes a family situation and turns it, more or less, into a fictional non-fiction essay on feminism, if that makes any sense. Well worth it, even if you hate that word (but, really - you'd only be proving Shields' point...as I just did).
im0gen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sweddy65's review against another edition
4.0
Wow wow wow wow wow. Grief and goodness, feminism, writing, family. An amazing book. I knew I would love it on page 7 when Reta, the fictional author and main character, described a volume she had written in this way: "You could send this book to anyone on your list who was maidenly or semi-academic or whom you didn't know very well." Why, then, did I not give it 5 stars? Because 5 stars means sometimes a book is so perfect I have to set it down and breathe for a while before continuing.
clarrro's review against another edition
4.0
this is smart and honest and warm and even funny with mystery, believable and likeable characters. Really enjoyed.