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bumble_abi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I started out a little frustrated with the structure - I wanted us to stay in 1948! - but once I'd figured out the novel's puzzle-piece he-said-she-said structure I started to enjoy the Before passages much more.
The multiple perspectives really help to nail home the novel's key themes about the utterly ludicrous nature of racist British attitudes, particularly against the historical backdrop. I really loved that all our narrators are flawed in some way or another - all equally human, with weaknesses that overlap in really resonant ways (the way Hortense and Bernard both jump to conclusions, how Queenie and Hortense both consider themselves a little above those they grew up with, how Gilbert and Bernard both naively cling to hopes of heroism and harebrained schemes for riches, how Queenie and Hortense and Gilbert all get married for primary reasons that aren't love). There's a wonderful subtlety to Levy's characterisation, and her characters are so believable.
I don't think the novel necessarily needed the Michael's-the-father plot twist. It felt a little forced and a slightly outlandish coincidence. I thought the broader plot and the book's ending would have been equally impactful if the father was just someone Queenie met during the war who had nothing to do with Hortense . It brought me out of the story a little, which is a shame - but nonetheless, a contemporary classic, and (Oprah voice) YOU should read it and YOU should read it.
The multiple perspectives really help to nail home the novel's key themes about the utterly ludicrous nature of racist British attitudes, particularly against the historical backdrop. I really loved that all our narrators are flawed in some way or another - all equally human, with weaknesses that overlap in really resonant ways (the way Hortense and Bernard both jump to conclusions, how Queenie and Hortense both consider themselves a little above those they grew up with, how Gilbert and Bernard both naively cling to hopes of heroism and harebrained schemes for riches, how Queenie and Hortense and Gilbert all get married for primary reasons that aren't love). There's a wonderful subtlety to Levy's characterisation, and her characters are so believable.
I don't think the novel necessarily needed the
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and War
Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, Sexual content, Colonisation, Infidelity, and Gore
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts
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