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colesa's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
yustika's review against another edition
Thanks, I hate it.
The fact that I dnf after 56 pages.
The fact that I dnf after 56 pages.
saradavidsonjohns's review against another edition
Put down for now, will pick back up when attention span feels better equipped
aquamarine's review against another edition
5.0
I love love love this book. The thread of the lioness's story lifts it into a whole other realm of brilliance and is a kind of metatextual comment on everything our narrator is thinking about, showing up our narrator's limitations and then showing her development, as well as being an incredibly powerful story in its own right; I actually hated the narrator for her obtuseness about the lioness at some points but Ellmann knows exactly what she's doing. Also there's so much more plot and tension than this book seems to promise in the beginning although I'd love it anyway even without that. How did this not win the Booker.
natyjaeger's review against another edition
4.0
Full review at: http://natysbookshelf.wordspress.com
It is incredibly difficult to rate this. At times, when it bore me a little, I wanted to give it 3 stars - then the next page I was in awe of this book, the intricate, rich inner life of our protagonist and the impressive writing style and want to give it 5 stars. In the end, I compromised with 4, although I have a feeling I will change it to 5 at some point.
This is really, really brilliant. It's a book you need to immerse yourself into and let the main character tell you her story little by little, in between thoughts about pies, deliveries, visits to the dentist, movies, news about shootings etc. Definitely not a book to rush through, not only because of its length or the very few paragraph breaks, but also because of the way it's written - you can spend several pages reading about her opinion on cinnamon rolls and then suddenly you're hit with an emotional scene with her mom. It's also a very funny book, which I did not expect at all.
I said above that the book bored me a little, but let me clarify: it's not a boring book at all. Just of course some scenes resonated with me more than others, and I did not care much about the monologues on movies that I never watched and hardly know about at all, but that is an aspect of my own cultural upbringing versus the protagonist's. There are lots of American events, news, movies etc. that I don't know much about so of course it was harder to relate than it would've been if I were American myself.
I think the term gets used too freely, but I honestly think Lucy Ellmann is a genius. This book is really a work of art.
It is incredibly difficult to rate this. At times, when it bore me a little, I wanted to give it 3 stars - then the next page I was in awe of this book, the intricate, rich inner life of our protagonist and the impressive writing style and want to give it 5 stars. In the end, I compromised with 4, although I have a feeling I will change it to 5 at some point.
This is really, really brilliant. It's a book you need to immerse yourself into and let the main character tell you her story little by little, in between thoughts about pies, deliveries, visits to the dentist, movies, news about shootings etc. Definitely not a book to rush through, not only because of its length or the very few paragraph breaks, but also because of the way it's written - you can spend several pages reading about her opinion on cinnamon rolls and then suddenly you're hit with an emotional scene with her mom. It's also a very funny book, which I did not expect at all.
I said above that the book bored me a little, but let me clarify: it's not a boring book at all. Just of course some scenes resonated with me more than others, and I did not care much about the monologues on movies that I never watched and hardly know about at all, but that is an aspect of my own cultural upbringing versus the protagonist's. There are lots of American events, news, movies etc. that I don't know much about so of course it was harder to relate than it would've been if I were American myself.
I think the term gets used too freely, but I honestly think Lucy Ellmann is a genius. This book is really a work of art.
lieslindi's review against another edition
5.0
“ … the fact that it’s unbelievable but every single thing alive has its own center of being, and looks out on the world from that point of view, even a worm, a jellyfish, hamsters, owls, the fact that even a leaf has feelings, the fact that you know the leaves are enjoying this warm sun going right through them, the fact that the leaves seem to be sunbathing, letting the sun lick them, the fact that there are times, maybe the most unlikely times, that you realize you’re simply thrilled to be alive, and what a great piece of luck it is just to be a part of things, to have a body, so you can feel and see and walk the earth, for just a little while, the fact that children are born happy, and it’s a mom’s duty to preserve that in them as long as possible, everybody’s duty, the fact that it’s the same with flowers, the fact that there is no way a newly opened poppy can’t be thrilled to be alive, and trees, waterfalls, the fact that waterfalls sure act thrilled, except when they dry to a trickle during a dry spell or something, the falls at Fallingwater, the fact that water must have a sense of itself, a real liking for itself, because bodies of water are always trying to meet up, the fact that it’s hard to keep them apart, the fact that that’s why oceans exist, they’re big water get-togethers, Jacques Cousteau, the fact that maybe waves worry about getting separated from the rest of the water …" (785)
sookieskipper's review against another edition
3.0
In my head I keep calling Lucy Ellmann as Lillian Hellman. Its a bizarre word play that my brain does and oddly enough, the writing style of two women can't be more different.
I enjoyed this book till it became weary. I enjoyed till I saw pattern and repetition. I enjoyed it till the book was a distraction to itself. I enjoyed it till the random rants became repetitive. I enjoyed it till I felt the manufactured brain rant that goes in the narrator's head felt more artificial than real. I enjoyed it for a while. And then not so much.
I enjoyed this book till it became weary. I enjoyed till I saw pattern and repetition. I enjoyed it till the book was a distraction to itself. I enjoyed it till the random rants became repetitive. I enjoyed it till I felt the manufactured brain rant that goes in the narrator's head felt more artificial than real. I enjoyed it for a while. And then not so much.
susiedoom's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a trek. It's mesmerizing and anxiety-inducing and mind-blowing all at once. I would certainly call it a test of endurance - over 1,000 pages, written in one long stream-of-consciousness ramble, with intermittent narratives from the point of view of a mountain lion. I know, right? Why did I keep slogging through this bizarre narrative? Well, because it was impossible to stop reading, for one. It's also fascinating, and so strange that I just had to keep going. I suppose I'm glad I did; I don't think I could have slept peacefully if I hadn't followed it through to the end. The format, writing, structure, concept - all of it was unique and really made me reconsider a lot about literature. Do I think the point could have been made with 500 fewer pages? Honestly, yes. But either way, it's a book that I know I'll think about at random times throughout the rest of my life. So I guess if it took 1,000 pages to completely change my perspective, it was worth it.
werds's review against another edition
Sorta. Kinda. https://recenseernogeenkeer.com/2020/03/06/ducks-newburyport/