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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
it’s a really good novel, but uneasy about the use of the source material / the twisting of mabel into a character to discuss a very narrow feminist framework — one that does not apply to her real life or consider the other ways a person can be oppressed
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love books where nothing happens that are filled with unlikeable characters and clever writing, but I didn't really connect with this. There are some very quotable paragraphs tho.
I'm pretty sure this is a great book for many readers but clearly wasn't for me.
dark
reflective
tense
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
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
maybe an unfair rating because i listened to this on audio but it’s like it went in through one ear and out the other
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TBH I have a love/hate relationship with this book. It took me a while to finish reading because I felt that it was slow— but something about it made me want to keep reading. Maybe it’s the mundane, kinda boring setting of it all? And the fact that there’s no actual plot? The main character, I feel, is too self conscious. But I also think that that is the point! There were a lot of parts that I related to, especially relating to this idea that a woman loses her identity after becoming a mother. Throughout the book, the main character (named M) is so weirdly obsessed and fascinated by this painter (who she calls L). She’s convinced herself that his art genuinely altered her life and later on she invites him to stay at her and her husband’s property (by a marsh? which I didn’t really know what that was until I looked it up). Anyways she’s hoping he would paint and capture the feeling and what she sees while living in the marsh, and they’ve built this second place (basically a cabin?) that he could stay in. Long story short, his visit was disappointing and he’s actually a really miserable and terrible person. M, to me, is kinda narcissistic, secretive and is just always psychoanalyzing every little thing. I read that Cusk’s works are pretty good and this is my first; the way she writes is weirdly captivating? Cause there’s parts with beautiful prose and thoughts that definitely resonated with me but then I turn the page and I’m like wondering how out of touch this mf can be??? M, I think, is just constantly living in her head but it’s interesting to read through the perspective of her character— in the beginning she tells jeffers that she promises to not alter anything so I do wonder how accurate & reliable her pov is. I do like the juxtaposition between this “second place” in the marsh and being/feeling like youre in second place. Her relationship with L is weird, and a lot of the dialogue is too unreal like idk who actually talks that way it’s like M is trying to make it sound so deep, shes like fantasizing being in this second place in life which I think is her way of dealing with this burden of womanhood that she’s obsessed with. Her idleness in domesticity and having to raise a daughter that she believes to have the same fate as her, I believe, is what fuels it. She craves change, and with L’s character she definitely loves the idea of him and was hoping that having him on the marsh would change not just the aspects of her domestic life but also parts of herself that she doesn’t really know how to unpack or understand. She yearns for validation, for L to confirm what shes been thinking and feeling inside all along. And in the end, he does. In the letter he tells her that she was right, and going back to paris was a mistake. He validates not just how she feels being in second place but also that maybe being in that second place isnt so bad after all. Maybe even better than the glory of being first. idk I just thought that was really interesting, and I’m thinking about picking up more of Rachel Cusk’s books cause I heard they were good— I do like the prose in this one ((even tho some of the ideas she brought up were a bit insufferable)) and sometimes felt like a jumble of words lol but maybe thats what I need rn: just a massive dump of words to analyze and figure out the meaning of. I am a woman after all
slow-paced
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
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