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jola_g's review against another edition
3.0
If only I could concur with Margaret Atwood's enthusiasm for 'A Jest of God' and her boundless admiration for Margaret Laurence, who had the power to reduce her to 'a quaking jelly'.
If only I had a time machine. It would take me to year 1966 and I would reread 'A Jest of God' then. At that point I would probably look like that, while writing this review:
Alas, the year is 2017 and as it seems, some charm of this novel has evaporated. It made me think of a long-forgotten bottle of once-alluring perfume.
Review to come.
If only I had a time machine. It would take me to year 1966 and I would reread 'A Jest of God' then. At that point I would probably look like that, while writing this review:
Alas, the year is 2017 and as it seems, some charm of this novel has evaporated. It made me think of a long-forgotten bottle of once-alluring perfume.
Review to come.
abigaildoig's review against another edition
3.0
Would’ve been better if I wasn’t forced to read this for class
nett's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. What a sad book. Maybe not completely sad. I certainly felt discomfited by Rachel's inability to get out of her own way. Disheartened by how easily she talked herself into being disheartened. How every sliver of hope life presented to her or that she allowed herself to dream was squashed by her insecurity and by her mother's neurosis and self-absorption.
Spoiler
You knew from the beginning that her ersatz relationship with Nick was doomed, but yet you hoped. Part of me felt that Rachel herself was doomed, and yet I allowed myself to hope. Laurence ultimately did right by her character. Even though Rachel found the strength to take charge of her life, you did not leave the story cheering and hopeful, energized for the future. You left the story as Rachel did, unsure of what might happen, resigned to the fact that anything might, good, bad or indifferent, but that at least you were moving on. At least, no more stasis. A happy ending? Hardly, But certainly a satisfying one.aznabila's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
elfs29's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Laurence’s stream of consciousness narrative through Rachel’s character is some of the most revealing writing of women’s loneliness, desire and doubt that I have ever read. It was almost slightly painful to read for I think it embodies so much of womanhood that is so rarely spoken of, that is hard to speak of because it happens entirely inside a person’s head. The story closed in a lovely way, and the general melancholy I felt throughout has settled into a restful acceptance, garnered through Rachel’s growth from the permanent fear that trapped her.
The blue light, and the chapel purged of all spirit, all spirits except the rye, and the somber flashiness, and the hour, and the strangeness, and the plump well meaning arm across my shoulders, and the changes in every place that go on without our knowing, and the fact that there is nothing here for me except what is here now -
‘Rachel - good Christ, are you crying?’
The blue light, and the chapel purged of all spirit, all spirits except the rye, and the somber flashiness, and the hour, and the strangeness, and the plump well meaning arm across my shoulders, and the changes in every place that go on without our knowing, and the fact that there is nothing here for me except what is here now -
‘Rachel - good Christ, are you crying?’
marilyn1904's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
siobhanward's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Margaret Laurence's books always break my heart because she writes lost women so well. Her women always seem untethered, as if they're floating. It makes for well-written but sad books, although I have to say I liked how this one wrapped up. Her writing is definitely "of an era" in some ways, but also contemporary in others.
hpuphd's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent novel (1966) by the Canadian writer Margaret Laurence. It is simple on the surface: a thirtyish grade-school teacher, Rachel Cameron, interacts with her widowed mother, her principal, a coworker, the parent of a pupil, and a man she comes to love over the summer. The first-person technique shows us her second thoughts on many of her own spoken sentences, how her timidity about herself and others shapes so much of who she is. Generalized, spoiler-type comments: But the combination of these experiences also changes her in life-affirming, heartening ways. I was rooting for Rachel to feel more comfortable and confident in her life at the end of the book, and it was thrilling how she achieves that without hurting anyone else. The last chapter addresses each relationship and crowns her story wonderfully.
gabitheaustrian's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0