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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
The ending was so worth it. Found the writing style very witty and interesting, too, so I think I will read more by the author.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
sad
slow-paced
A wonderful and gorgeous yet difficult and challenging read. This was replete with sentences where I would simply have to stare at a wall and process what I’d exactly read. Her descriptions of growing up in an evangelical environment and feeling like you weren’t quite “normal” within that environment really resonated.
Two such passages include:
Two such passages include:
- “‘The Lord forgives and forgets,' the pastor told me. Perhaps The Lord does, but my mother didn't.” - this was very funny in the context of my religious mother’s own mantra of “Never forgive, never forget.” I think this was where the similarities between my own mother and Jeanette’s stop, but perhaps there are common threads in how the religious experience their faith in theory vs. in practice.
- “I miss God. I miss the company of someone utterly loyal. I still don't think of God as my betrayer. The servants of God, yes, but servants by their very nature betray. I miss God who was my friend. I don't even know if God exists, but I do know that if God is your emotional role model, very few human relationships will match up to it.” And if that doesn’t sum up my own feelings post religious deconstruction quite well!
The storybook interludes detracted from the book for me and were why I almost didn’t give this a perfect 5/5. However, the emotional weight at the core of this book - and the eloquence with which it’s articulated - outweighs this for me. I can’t wait to read everything Jeanette Winterson has ever written.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
love love love her writing style, i definitely need to read more books by her. as for the plot i feel like this must have been more impactful and revolutionary at the time of its release than nowadays. nevertheless a very enjoyable read. i was either too tired or too dumb to understand the relevance of some of the legends she told to the story itself, but they were a nice intermezzo regardless.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes