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isabellastocka's review against another edition
2.0
This book suprised me, because I wasn't prepared to be so beautifully written and intense. It was an easy read with a lot of different emotions which changed so fast through the pages.
It is a book, that gives you something to think, for sure. However, doesn't make right what has happened. On the other hand, who saya what wrong or right is.
Well, I definitely finished the book with mixed feelings.
It is a book, that gives you something to think, for sure. However, doesn't make right what has happened. On the other hand, who saya what wrong or right is.
Well, I definitely finished the book with mixed feelings.
keysersuze's review against another edition
4.0
Ana’s life implodes when the widow of her lover comes to her office to ask her to help with the will.
Told from her point of view, she reels between current events and the before and during of their affair, sparked by a meeting in her office and carried on, pursued by them both as they recognise something in each other that they can’t find in their public lives.
Ana’s not a likeable person. She is envious of basically everyone and everything, she lies, forgets her niece’s birthday and spends the majority of the novel justifying their affair by reasoning that his wife was clearly a terrible human being who just didn’t understand him.
Somehow, Sarah Crossan’s writing brings Ana’s humanity to the forefront – the reader sympathises while recognising that the Wife may not actually be as terrible as he made out to be.
A slim novel of just over 200 pages, and with a prose poetry hybrid on the pages, this isn’t a long read. That’s not to say it’s not complex though, and on more than one occasion I got the feeling that we were peeling back layers of revelations with each page. None of these I’ll tell you now, of course – part of the impact is the deadweight of another reveal, something else to add to the narrative which fleshes out the characters into real people, with relatable bad decisions and broken dreams.
Not the most upbeat of stories and actually, not really much optimism in there but something in the way that their affair, the connection between two humans, is so well described it doesn’t feel like relentless doom and gloom.
You might be familiar with Crossan as a YA author – perhaps her most well known is the Breathe series, or maybe The Weight of Water. I enjoyed the window into another world, and look forward to reading something with her unique voice again soon.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Circus for the ARC!
Told from her point of view, she reels between current events and the before and during of their affair, sparked by a meeting in her office and carried on, pursued by them both as they recognise something in each other that they can’t find in their public lives.
Ana’s not a likeable person. She is envious of basically everyone and everything, she lies, forgets her niece’s birthday and spends the majority of the novel justifying their affair by reasoning that his wife was clearly a terrible human being who just didn’t understand him.
Somehow, Sarah Crossan’s writing brings Ana’s humanity to the forefront – the reader sympathises while recognising that the Wife may not actually be as terrible as he made out to be.
A slim novel of just over 200 pages, and with a prose poetry hybrid on the pages, this isn’t a long read. That’s not to say it’s not complex though, and on more than one occasion I got the feeling that we were peeling back layers of revelations with each page. None of these I’ll tell you now, of course – part of the impact is the deadweight of another reveal, something else to add to the narrative which fleshes out the characters into real people, with relatable bad decisions and broken dreams.
Not the most upbeat of stories and actually, not really much optimism in there but something in the way that their affair, the connection between two humans, is so well described it doesn’t feel like relentless doom and gloom.
You might be familiar with Crossan as a YA author – perhaps her most well known is the Breathe series, or maybe The Weight of Water. I enjoyed the window into another world, and look forward to reading something with her unique voice again soon.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Circus for the ARC!
nickl3s's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Jesus female main character is so unlikeable but I couldn’t stop reading
anna93_'s review against another edition
3.0
*Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Bit of an odd one. The best ways to describe this book would be 'interesting'.
The book focuses on Ana and who has been having an affair for 3 years, but her lover has died. The book is split into 5 parts and I'd say that for the first three parts of this book, I hated it!
Ana seemed like a horrible woman who treated her family like rubbish and was solely focused on Connor, the man she was having an affair with. However, Ana's character begins to develop and you can tell how much she loved Connor. He was cruel to her and left her to deal with an abortion by herself. At this point, you can understand her pain and how she is trying to deal with her grief and lack of closure.
Very powerful book.
Bit of an odd one. The best ways to describe this book would be 'interesting'.
The book focuses on Ana and who has been having an affair for 3 years, but her lover has died. The book is split into 5 parts and I'd say that for the first three parts of this book, I hated it!
Ana seemed like a horrible woman who treated her family like rubbish and was solely focused on Connor, the man she was having an affair with. However, Ana's character begins to develop and you can tell how much she loved Connor. He was cruel to her and left her to deal with an abortion by herself. At this point, you can understand her pain and how she is trying to deal with her grief and lack of closure.
Very powerful book.
nina_reads_books's review against another edition
4.0
I was really intrigued when I heard about Here Is the Beehive. It is written in verse which is a style I am very unfamiliar with. It is also about a woman grieving the loss of a man she has been having an affair with for three years.
Ana discovers that her secret lover Connor is dead after his wife Rebecca contacts the law firm she works at to discuss his will. No one knows that Ana has lost the man she loves, least of all her husband and two children.
This a story about loss and heartache, grieving in isolation and about how being secretly unfaithful impacts a whole family. The storyline has the potential of being distasteful – Ana has wilfully cheated on her husband and significantly neglects both her husband and children which is not something with which I identify. But the way this book is written is breathtaking and compelling and the verse sweeps you along.
This is a short book but the use of verse makes every single word count. Sarah Crossan has masterfully laid the unlikeable characters emotions bare.
I read three quarters of this book in one sitting before being too tired to read further. I think had I read this through in one go I could have given this 5 stars but the one break made the final quarter feel slightly disjointed. I highly recommend this book and if you can read it in one go. Very clever writing!
Ana discovers that her secret lover Connor is dead after his wife Rebecca contacts the law firm she works at to discuss his will. No one knows that Ana has lost the man she loves, least of all her husband and two children.
This a story about loss and heartache, grieving in isolation and about how being secretly unfaithful impacts a whole family. The storyline has the potential of being distasteful – Ana has wilfully cheated on her husband and significantly neglects both her husband and children which is not something with which I identify. But the way this book is written is breathtaking and compelling and the verse sweeps you along.
This is a short book but the use of verse makes every single word count. Sarah Crossan has masterfully laid the unlikeable characters emotions bare.
I read three quarters of this book in one sitting before being too tired to read further. I think had I read this through in one go I could have given this 5 stars but the one break made the final quarter feel slightly disjointed. I highly recommend this book and if you can read it in one go. Very clever writing!
btpbookclub's review against another edition
4.0
I have read a lot of books by this author so this was a must read for me. I love her unique writing style of poetry format which tells the story making her books easy reads but enjoyable ones too. This is a story about an affair, death, betrayal and love.
Beautifully written and a gorgeous cover. I loved it! Devoured it in a day. Have to feel for the main character and her loss as she can't acknowledge as noone knew about their affair or love, she's angry, upset and mourning herself while having to work with his wife after his death. She's his solicitor. Would highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me.
Beautifully written and a gorgeous cover. I loved it! Devoured it in a day. Have to feel for the main character and her loss as she can't acknowledge as noone knew about their affair or love, she's angry, upset and mourning herself while having to work with his wife after his death. She's his solicitor. Would highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me.
aoifemoore's review against another edition
4.0
This won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but I really enjoyed it. It’s a raw and honest account of the pain experienced by a woman who has had a secret affair with a married man who then dies. It gives an insight into what drove her to have the affair, what she gained from it, and how it affected her life, mental health, sanity and relationships. It does all of this while still not being sympathetic to her and her actions. The prose is also different and kind of poetic and I enjoyed it
loubraryoftheforest's review against another edition
3.0
I need to think on this book a while, at the moment I’m not sure if I enjoyed it or not. The main character offers no redeeming traits, and as we flash through the story it feels so one sided and jumbled. I didn’t warm to any if them, they were all annoying and self centred.
readingwithmygoldens's review against another edition
5.0
I wanted you to tear
the world to shreds
to get
to me.
I wanted to be chosen.
pg. 179
In one way or another, I think almost everyone can identify with the above. The realization that a relationship you hold so dear; has ended. Your love for the other person burns so bright it blinds you, but your partner no longer bestows that warm glow upon you. It is a desperate and low period of your life and the recovery is long and hard. Being so overwhelmed with grief, you can make some pretty questionable decisions and our protagonist is no different.
Ana is an estate lawyer and she begins an affair with one of her clients. She learns of his sudden death from his wife who is calling to find out how to handle his estate. Thus begins our time with Ana's slow unraveling as she falls victim to her grief.
Besides this being expertly written, the way this is written (in verse) is FANTASTIC. It gives more power to particular words and takes us inside the mind of someone who isn't thinking clearly anymore. The prose was gut wrenching and I felt so close to Ana that I lived her heartache and obsession. I watched how her deteriorating mental health slowly infected that of everything in her life. I would HIGHLY recommend this to you if you loved Normal People by Sally Rooney. A best book of 2020 for me - no question!
**Small disclaimer: Please keep in mind that because it is written in verse and there are no "chapters" there are little symbols that show a break in thought. This could be a little jarring as your perspective in time jumped around a lot, but once you got used to it there was no problem. It certainly didn't ruin my experience with the book (as you can see), but it might be challenging or frustrating to others. I urge you to give this a try regardless!
Thank you to Little Brown for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.
Review Date: 11/15/2020
Publication Date: 11/17/2020
the world to shreds
to get
to me.
I wanted to be chosen.
pg. 179
In one way or another, I think almost everyone can identify with the above. The realization that a relationship you hold so dear; has ended. Your love for the other person burns so bright it blinds you, but your partner no longer bestows that warm glow upon you. It is a desperate and low period of your life and the recovery is long and hard. Being so overwhelmed with grief, you can make some pretty questionable decisions and our protagonist is no different.
Ana is an estate lawyer and she begins an affair with one of her clients. She learns of his sudden death from his wife who is calling to find out how to handle his estate. Thus begins our time with Ana's slow unraveling as she falls victim to her grief.
Besides this being expertly written, the way this is written (in verse) is FANTASTIC. It gives more power to particular words and takes us inside the mind of someone who isn't thinking clearly anymore. The prose was gut wrenching and I felt so close to Ana that I lived her heartache and obsession. I watched how her deteriorating mental health slowly infected that of everything in her life. I would HIGHLY recommend this to you if you loved Normal People by Sally Rooney. A best book of 2020 for me - no question!
**Small disclaimer: Please keep in mind that because it is written in verse and there are no "chapters" there are little symbols that show a break in thought. This could be a little jarring as your perspective in time jumped around a lot, but once you got used to it there was no problem. It certainly didn't ruin my experience with the book (as you can see), but it might be challenging or frustrating to others. I urge you to give this a try regardless!
Thank you to Little Brown for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.
Review Date: 11/15/2020
Publication Date: 11/17/2020
misha_ali's review against another edition
4.0
This is a story told in verse about an abrupt ending to a long term affair and the process of grief the remaining participant in the affair, Ana, goes through after Connor dies. She reaches out in various ways to get closure and it's more an examination of grief and our reaction to it than the story of two women who loved the same person coming together to become friends or form a meaningful relationship.
The verse part took me by surprise but it was still very accessible. This is probably one of the more novel approaches to the subject I've found, pun always intended.
The verse part took me by surprise but it was still very accessible. This is probably one of the more novel approaches to the subject I've found, pun always intended.