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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a beautiful and profound story. Small in size but packs a lot in.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a beautiful little book. A tender, artful depiction of friendship, love and grief, and it packed a much bigger punch than its short 200 pages.
The story journeys through the lives of Ellis and Michael. We begin when they meet as young boys and follow their love as it grows, dancing beyond friendship, split by time and circumstance and Annie. Winman seamlessly bleeds memory into the present, a sad but intimate way to flow through the years.
Split into two halves, we see the relationship through the eyes of Ellis, and then Michael. Ellis wades through grief and night shifts in a car factory. Cutting to Michael, his half is a hard read of life as a gay man who desperately misses Ellis. Living with illness and death around him, Michael searches for peace amidst the passing of time. It’s a sorrowful read in both halves, but my one issue is that they felt a little disconnected, leaving the reader to wonder at the details in between.
Throughout, Winman’s quiet, restrained writing style beautifully celebrates everyday moments. It’s poetic, evocative and she paints emotion in brilliant colour. For me the prose was the joy of this book and I’ll be adding all her books to my list.
The story journeys through the lives of Ellis and Michael. We begin when they meet as young boys and follow their love as it grows, dancing beyond friendship, split by time and circumstance and Annie. Winman seamlessly bleeds memory into the present, a sad but intimate way to flow through the years.
Split into two halves, we see the relationship through the eyes of Ellis, and then Michael. Ellis wades through grief and night shifts in a car factory. Cutting to Michael, his half is a hard read of life as a gay man who desperately misses Ellis. Living with illness and death around him, Michael searches for peace amidst the passing of time. It’s a sorrowful read in both halves, but my one issue is that they felt a little disconnected, leaving the reader to wonder at the details in between.
Throughout, Winman’s quiet, restrained writing style beautifully celebrates everyday moments. It’s poetic, evocative and she paints emotion in brilliant colour. For me the prose was the joy of this book and I’ll be adding all her books to my list.
emotional
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:
Yes
A beautiful book. It all starts with a woman winning a cheap replica of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers which becomes her prized possession, a metaphor, perhaps, for the hope she needs to survive. But the book is not about Dora, but about her son, Ellis and his first love. The book is about friendship and love and is just so tender and poetic, even. A novel told first in two voices, Ellis and Michael, the story unfolds slowly as the past illuminates the present.
The blurb here is not at all accurate to the structure of the book. (We start near the end and flash back, not jump forward, which changes the whole journey.)
DNF. i couldn't make it more than 25 pages through this book before i was bored out of my skull. sorry.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Tender and rough at the same time. I like the bittersweet vibe that permeates the whole book. But I feel that many things - especially the characters inner thoughts - are left unexplored, and I'm left wanting for more.