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breanneporter's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really like Melissa Broder’s voice as an author, and there was some really beautiful writing and commentary on grief in this, but it just didn’t hit for me. It follows a 41 year old author as she embarks on a trip to Death Valley in order to get inspiration for her in-process novel about a woman not unlike herself. During the journey she goes on hikes in the desert, finds and enters a magical cactus, gets lost, anthropomorphizes many many inanimate objects and animals, and confronts her grief and feelings around her father’s illness and her husband’s chronic pain. I read on audio and while I liked the protagonist, I found it hard to stay totally focused on the strange, meandering, half-real/half-imagined journey (without drifting back into my own thoughts). I think I may have enjoyed this more if I had read it with my eyes, and especially if I had recently processed/was processing a similar grief. Overall kind of a meh for me, though I wished I liked it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Chronic illness
neverfarfromthesea's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
Witty, likeable but flawed main character. I was touched my some of her vulnerably honest descriptions of chronic illness and anticipatory grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Grief
bdingz's review
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Melissa Broder really gets it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Medical content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Chronic illness
Minor: Excrement and Addiction
siriface's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
mondovertigo's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Excrement
Minor: Sexual content and Addiction
samburkhouse's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Excrement
alexisgarcia's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
4.5
honestly i really enjoyed this. it almost felt like a fever dream in the best way and i’ve never read anything quite like it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Chronic illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Terminal illness, and Death
alligatortoast's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Where to begin with this book? It was...different, to say the least. The premise is simple enough - a woman struggling with her father's health after a car accident and her husband's chronic illness runs off to a Best Western in the California desert to clear her head. She goes on a hike through the desert that results in her getting lost and fighting for survival, while having psychedelic experiences or hallucinations. I feel like the blurb of this book is misleading. We're told she finds a giant cactus on the trail ( she does) and has visions (she does) but I was expecting much more from this. In my head, she was going to find a fantasy world within the cactus and be transported to some magical place. This sort of happens, in the form of hallucinations that are never fully explained. Was she imagining them? Were they projections? Were they spirits guiding her? You never find out.
Another gripe I have with this book is the main character. She's at once witty, funny, selfish, and irritating. The book turns into a survival story half way through, and though we're supposed to be concerned and rooting for the MC, I found myself annoyed by her. She's literally dying in the desert and somehow I found it hard to feel sympathy for her at times. Maybe it was just my personal tastes, but the book was honestly painful to read sometimes, and I had to force myself to finish it.
It's also pretty bizarre and surreal at times. She has full blown conversations with rocks, not once but throughout the entire novel. There's also a part where she rides on the back of a giant bird and is brought back to the beginning of the trail. This is never explained, and you're left wondering if this was real or imagined. Not to mention the cactus that is the "star" of the book only making an appearance a handful of times. It appears, disappears and reappears randomly, and this is also never explained.
I will say, a positive of this book is the format. The chapters are incredibly short, ranging from 1 to 6 pages at most. This makes for a quick read, or at least it should. Again, I was struggling about halfway through to finish. I stopped about 2/3's of the way through to read another book (Open Throat by Henry Hoke) before finishing, and I almost DNF.
It's not all bad, as it has some powerful wisdom and views on grief, love, and loss. Anyone with family or friends who are chronically sick or in hospital care will likely get something out of this, though it may also be triggering for some. The ending is hopeful, though again, we're never given a proper explanation as to the events of the novel. It's basically one giant fever dream, or a metaphor, or these impossible things really happened and we'll just never know which is the true answer. Maybe that's the point, maybe it's meant to be enjoyed and not analyzed too deeply. But for a novel as reflective as this, I was longing for an explanation.
Overall, I'd recommend this if you like odd, bizarre, and surreal reads. It's humorous, raw, emotional and uncomfortable. So if that's your cup of tea, I say go for it. I don't think it's worth full price though ($30!) so I say get it used. I use Pango Books, it's a life saver.
Another gripe I have with this book is the main character. She's at once witty, funny, selfish, and irritating. The book turns into a survival story half way through, and though we're supposed to be concerned and rooting for the MC, I found myself annoyed by her. She's literally dying in the desert and somehow I found it hard to feel sympathy for her at times. Maybe it was just my personal tastes, but the book was honestly painful to read sometimes, and I had to force myself to finish it.
It's also pretty bizarre and surreal at times. She has full blown conversations with rocks, not once but throughout the entire novel. There's also a part where she
I will say, a positive of this book is the format. The chapters are incredibly short, ranging from 1 to 6 pages at most. This makes for a quick read, or at least it should. Again, I was struggling about halfway through to finish. I stopped about 2/3's of the way through to read another book (Open Throat by Henry Hoke) before finishing, and I almost DNF.
It's not all bad, as it has some powerful wisdom and views on grief, love, and loss. Anyone with family or friends who are chronically sick or in hospital care will likely get something out of this, though it may also be triggering for some. The ending is hopeful, though again, we're never given a proper explanation as to the events of the novel. It's basically one giant fever dream, or a metaphor, or these impossible things really happened and we'll just never know which is the true answer. Maybe that's the point, maybe it's meant to be enjoyed and not analyzed too deeply. But for a novel as reflective as this, I was longing for an explanation.
Overall, I'd recommend this if you like odd, bizarre, and surreal reads. It's humorous, raw, emotional and uncomfortable. So if that's your cup of tea, I say go for it. I don't think it's worth full price though ($30!) so I say get it used. I use Pango Books, it's a life saver.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Car accident, Chronic illness, and Grief
dixiecarroll's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair review. I already love Melissa Broder but this solidified it. I guarantee this book is not for everyone - our main character gets lost in the woods while grieving her father and sometimes finds herself inside of a cactus and other times having horrific injuries. It was laugh out loud funny and then immediately I was holding back tears. I don’t know how she does it… she is so brilliant at writing such visceral stories - I felt her pain so bad I had to stand up and put the book down, and when I finished it I said “oh my god” out loud. Everyone GO READ THIS!!! It’s 2 hours of your life! Just do it!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Addiction, Excrement, Blood, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Medical content
Moderate: Ableism and Chronic illness