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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slow paced book with little plot but characters that resonates with you with their relationships to others.
Some general spoiler up ahead:
The mother and the daughter share this bond where they both want to try to develop their relationship and bridge the emotional gap between them, yet are interrupted by layers of history and a difference in the environments in which they were raised. I can relate to the main character a lot, with a semi-permeable language barrier stopping them from being able to fully communicate and a hesitancy to be emotionally vulnerable with your parents. Yet they know they can rely on each other to be there for them, to wordlessly tie their laces when they can’t do it themselves.
I find it comforting that most of the unspoken thoughts between the mother and daughter don’t get resolved because that’s what real life is like, but they gain an understanding for eachother.
Some general spoiler up ahead:
The mother and the daughter share this bond where they both want to try to develop their relationship and bridge the emotional gap between them, yet are interrupted by layers of history and a difference in the environments in which they were raised. I can relate to the main character a lot, with a semi-permeable language barrier stopping them from being able to fully communicate and a hesitancy to be emotionally vulnerable with your parents. Yet they know they can rely on each other to be there for them, to wordlessly tie their laces when they can’t do it themselves.
I find it comforting that most of the unspoken thoughts between the mother and daughter don’t get resolved because that’s what real life is like, but they gain an understanding for eachother.
4.5
Short and stunning. A quiet contemplation of the untraversable distances between us and how those distances are as beautiful as they are tragic. Maybe the moments where communication fails, where it’s impossible to truly express yourself or understand someone else, are the moments when we actually come closest to absolute compassion. Maybe it’s the effort and nothing else, not even the success of that effort, that bridges the gap. Loneliness and connection aren’t necessarily antithetical and can perhaps amplify each other in wonderful ways.
While completely unlike Orbital, there are some similarities that might make clearer why I love both books so much. Namely, the lack of plot in favor of character and relationship exploration, the special attention to descriptive language, and the quietly profound moments that brought tears to my eyes despite not containing anything inherently sad.
Basically I loved this. Definitely worth a reread.
“Maybe it’s good, I said, to stop sometimes and reflect upon the things that have happened, maybe thinking about sadness can actually end up making you happy.”
“But, she said, in fact there was no control, and understanding would not lessen any pain. The best we could do in this life was to pass through it, like smoke through the branches, suffering, until we either reached a state of nothingness, or else suffered elsewhere…She was looking at me then, and I knew that she wanted me to be with her on this, to follow her, but to my shame I found that I could not and worse, that I could not even pretend.”
“I had one vague, exhausted thought that perhaps it was all right not to understand all things, but simply to see and hold them.”
Short and stunning. A quiet contemplation of the untraversable distances between us and how those distances are as beautiful as they are tragic. Maybe the moments where communication fails, where it’s impossible to truly express yourself or understand someone else, are the moments when we actually come closest to absolute compassion. Maybe it’s the effort and nothing else, not even the success of that effort, that bridges the gap. Loneliness and connection aren’t necessarily antithetical and can perhaps amplify each other in wonderful ways.
While completely unlike Orbital, there are some similarities that might make clearer why I love both books so much. Namely, the lack of plot in favor of character and relationship exploration, the special attention to descriptive language, and the quietly profound moments that brought tears to my eyes despite not containing anything inherently sad.
Basically I loved this. Definitely worth a reread.
“Maybe it’s good, I said, to stop sometimes and reflect upon the things that have happened, maybe thinking about sadness can actually end up making you happy.”
“But, she said, in fact there was no control, and understanding would not lessen any pain. The best we could do in this life was to pass through it, like smoke through the branches, suffering, until we either reached a state of nothingness, or else suffered elsewhere…She was looking at me then, and I knew that she wanted me to be with her on this, to follow her, but to my shame I found that I could not and worse, that I could not even pretend.”
“I had one vague, exhausted thought that perhaps it was all right not to understand all things, but simply to see and hold them.”
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Bu naif kitap sanki çok güçlü bir metin olma potansiyelini tam olarak kullanamamış gibi hissediyorum. Çünkü anne ve kız arasındaki o tuhaf ilişki biçimlerinin evrensel olduğunu, kitabın bu duyguyu başlarda çok iyi hissettirdiğini düşünüyorum.
Kitaba başladığımda Ingmar Bergman'ın çok sevdiğim Güz Sonatı filmindeki şu vurucu replik geldi aklıma "Kızlar annelerinin yaralarını miras alır. Annelerin hatalarını kızlar ödemelidir. Annelerin mutsuzluğu kızlarının mutsuzluğudur. Sanki göbek bağı hiç kesilmemiş gibi… Anne, sahiden öyle mi? Kızının mutsuzluğu bir annenin zaferi midir? Anne, benim üzüntüm sana gizli bir zevk mi veriyor?” Tüm kız çocukları bilir ki çocuk olmak da zordur anne olmak da... Büyüdükçe açılan makaslar sizi bazen yakınlaştırır, bazen uzaklaştırır. Bu kitaptaki o sessiz anlardan çok etkilendim o nedenle. Daha uzun, daha yoğun okumak istedim. Araya giren eski anılar okuma zevkimi sekteye uğratan, kitabın yoğun duygusuna zarar veren anılar oldu.
Keşke o sessizliklerin, anlaşma arzusuyla hareket edilen anların naifliğinin üzerine daha çok gitseydi yazar.
Kitaba başladığımda Ingmar Bergman'ın çok sevdiğim Güz Sonatı filmindeki şu vurucu replik geldi aklıma "Kızlar annelerinin yaralarını miras alır. Annelerin hatalarını kızlar ödemelidir. Annelerin mutsuzluğu kızlarının mutsuzluğudur. Sanki göbek bağı hiç kesilmemiş gibi… Anne, sahiden öyle mi? Kızının mutsuzluğu bir annenin zaferi midir? Anne, benim üzüntüm sana gizli bir zevk mi veriyor?” Tüm kız çocukları bilir ki çocuk olmak da zordur anne olmak da... Büyüdükçe açılan makaslar sizi bazen yakınlaştırır, bazen uzaklaştırır. Bu kitaptaki o sessiz anlardan çok etkilendim o nedenle. Daha uzun, daha yoğun okumak istedim. Araya giren eski anılar okuma zevkimi sekteye uğratan, kitabın yoğun duygusuna zarar veren anılar oldu.
Keşke o sessizliklerin, anlaşma arzusuyla hareket edilen anların naifliğinin üzerine daha çok gitseydi yazar.
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Love a book where people just walk and talk!