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mellabella's review against another edition
3.0
I obviously wasn't expecting The Lovely Bones when I picked this up. It didn't disappoint because I didn't compare it. But, it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be either. All in all I liked it but it could have been better.
akrys40's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 so I bumped up to 3 stars.
I almost DNF after page 44, but I really wanted to know how Helen thought she would get away with very clear murder. It had a very Interesting concept of a toxic mother/daughter relationship on the inside cover, but it fell flat so many times because of the writing style and the unrealistic reactions of the characters.
Main things that bothered me were
-constant sexual tones of her mother’s body
-every scene was just a prelude to a flashback- just word dumps
-everyone was just okay with the fact that Helen killed her mother? Her ex-husband, her daughter, her friend’s son she slept with for no reason? Yea okay….
-Helen slept with her basically only friend’s son and the friend was just nonchalant about it? Gross
I almost DNF after page 44, but I really wanted to know how Helen thought she would get away with very clear murder. It had a very Interesting concept of a toxic mother/daughter relationship on the inside cover, but it fell flat so many times because of the writing style and the unrealistic reactions of the characters.
Main things that bothered me were
-constant sexual tones of her mother’s body
-every scene was just a prelude to a flashback- just word dumps
-everyone was just okay with the fact that Helen killed her mother? Her ex-husband, her daughter, her friend’s son she slept with for no reason? Yea okay….
-Helen slept with her basically only friend’s son and the friend was just nonchalant about it? Gross
katreadingbooks's review against another edition
3.0
The book dragged a bit. This book fell short for me compare to her last two books. There were points where I just wanted to jump to last chapter and be done with it. I stuck it out and as a result I give it 3 stars.
karenleagermain's review against another edition
2.0
Not so sure about this one...kind of an odd book. I read it fast and found parts of it, especially the flashbacks, to be more relatable than felt comfortable. I can relate a lot to the family dynamics, especially the main character being an only child and the pressure that comes along with it. I also related to this book in a way that I don't think I would have a few weeks ago. I am kind of in a strange place and this book hit my funny. Overall, I felt uncomfortable reading it, yet I could not put it down. The ambiguity at the end bothered me.
jjudd's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't read The Lovely Bones so maybe I don't know how bad this one is compared to that, but I liked it. It was very fast paced.
sammireads7's review against another edition
1.0
No just no. I only rate books one star if it is absolutely awful or I don’t finish this book is book. I had to dnf at page 44. That was absolutely disgusting I could not read after that. I definitely would never recommend this to anyone.
susanbrooks's review against another edition
1.0
Preposterous premise. Bizarre plot. And people don't really talk like that. I've been trying but failed to imagine what compelled Sebold to write it.
jessica_patient's review
1.0
American Psycho for the middle-aged woman. The book is quite uncomfortable to read but also compelling.
vikingwolf's review
Oh WHY did I do it? WHY did I choose to read this after the horror that was The Lovely Bones??? Sadly I read this and it was WORSE! The subject matter is again disturbing, with the woman murdering her mother without seeming to give a damn but it was the way it was written that I really despised. Mother and daughter were both bitches that you didn't care about. The writing style and choice of words were deliberatly chosen to try and shock your sense of morality and decency-me, I just found it as pathetic as a child that keeps yelling a new swear word for attention. After my attempt to gas myself using the electric oven after 'The Lovely Bones', this book drove me to stick my head in the grill where I only succeeded in setting fire to my hair...
izzybuck's review against another edition
4.0
This book resonates with the fallout of a difficult, conflicting relationship between a daughter and her mentally ill mother. The protagonist, Helen, is hardly the protagonist a reader should expect. She is flawed, and damaged by her childhood, and carries the burden of her mother - who suffered from some variety of mental illnesses - into her old age. This is where the novel begins, at the end of her mother's life. The opening sequence was suspenseful and scary - I had never read anything so morose and nihilistic. The distasteful descriptions of the mother brought to mind Dostoyevsky's descriptions of the elderly victim of Raskolnikov's in Crime and Punishment. Sebold's novel unfolds with the history of Helen's childhood, which, as the novel progresses, gives some understanding of the complexity of their relationship.
The writing and characters are truthful, terrifying and difficult to fathom - but the journey of the story is worth taking.
The writing and characters are truthful, terrifying and difficult to fathom - but the journey of the story is worth taking.