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1.98k reviews for:

Second Place

Rachel Cusk

3.66 AVERAGE

dark emotional sad slow-paced
challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Truly beautiful book with incredible insights, though not an easy read. M invites artist L to paint the marsh she and her husband Tony live in. Let’s say, he’s not quite what she expected him to be.
reflective slow-paced
emotional reflective tense slow-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
reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
alskinner's profile picture

alskinner's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 4%

Difficult to engage with the narrator + content
challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced
Loveable characters: No

Not entirely sure how I feel about this one.

It was a thoughtful and well-crafted piece about a woman seemingly stuck living a life where she doesn't feel truly alive. It's a tale of isolation, both physically and mentally, even when surrounded by people. 

However, throughout the novel (and still after finishing it), there is a sense that it lacks something I can't quite place. Maybe it's that the characters all seemed to be formless imitations of particular ideals, and you never have them grow into something better or fuller. I'm not truly sure, but I would have liked to see more meaningful developments.
challenging emotional reflective medium-paced