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newdream's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
So this book is, I feel like, wrongly marketed as a guide through post-pregnancy depression. I thought I was going into a book about pregnancy in general, how society thinks pregnancy is, vs how it is actually like. This is a book about that, but only a small portion of it covers that topic. It is more about women through history who wrote stories and had or didn't have children. And about men they married. So many things in this book were stretched out and I was really bored. I almost DNFd it, but U kept going. I do like the feminism tone that it has, it just nedded something more.
yarfaqikhdir's review against another edition
4.0
A beautifully written semi-autobiography about inner struggles, personal growth and Elif’s experiences with maturing on her own pace and turn regardless of her gender and societal pressure to hurry up with the process.
About her inner conflicts with The Choir of Discordant Voices on sacrificing motherhood for excelling at her career or vise versa, not resorting to people, but to books and the voices of previous authors (women if you must know) and their experiences from their works or their diaries, and how she found her way.
An amazing read overall! You see a lot of the characters and events from her books later on that pay homage to her personal path and experiences mentioned in this beautiful work of art.
About her inner conflicts with The Choir of Discordant Voices on sacrificing motherhood for excelling at her career or vise versa, not resorting to people, but to books and the voices of previous authors (women if you must know) and their experiences from their works or their diaries, and how she found her way.
An amazing read overall! You see a lot of the characters and events from her books later on that pay homage to her personal path and experiences mentioned in this beautiful work of art.
ovenbird_reads's review against another edition
2.0
I'm pretty luke warm about this book. While some of it is insightful I'm finding it often ridiculous. The "harem" of voices that Elif battles with while she debates the issue of whether it is possible to be both a writer and a mother comes across as silly, which undermines the seriousness of her investigation. I can see using aspects of the self in order to stage internal debates, but I would argue that Shafak takes the trope too far. Her voices are given literal bodies and are presumed to physically exist in the context of this book. Shafak outlines a scene where her internal "finger-women", all just a few inches high, accost her while she's out walking and she worries that the fisherman will see them or a cat will eat them. I was highly distracted by these fanciful imaginings and it made the book read like a child's fairy tale rather than a serious look at postpartum depression. Her tiny selves pop up out of nowhere like Disney side-kicks and I kept imagining them as brightly rendered cartoon people. I would have liked to see a less whimsical approach to what was a life-altering series of decisions and experiences in Shafak's life--take out the finger-women and this might have been a really useful book.
lenaha26's review against another edition
3.0
أتاني كتاب حليب أسود هدية من صديقي المقرب من فترة وجيزة وبعد فقداني لشهيتي حول القراءة والكتابة وانغماسي في متاهاتي الشخصية أستطيع القول ان هذا الكتاب كان كنسمة منعشة.
أجد أسلوب أليف سلساً وخفيفاً في معظم مؤلفاتها, لكن كون هذا الكتاب أشبه ما يكون إلى السيرة الذاتية, توقعت الأفضل من هذا.
تجرية الاكتئاب المرهقة بغض النظر عن نوعها تدوم بما يكفي لأن يستطيع المرء لمسها بقرب يكفي لأن يوثقها بأعمق التفاصيل.
أردت أن أسمع أكثر عن أليف المكتئبة, وعن دهاليزها السوداء ومتاهات الغرق خاصتها.
ليس من السهل أن يكشف المرء نفسه على الملأ خصوصاً بهذه التفاصيل, وربما بعض الكتاب يفضلون ترك مساحة تفصلهم بين قرائهم, لكن خاب أملي حين وصلت لأخر الكتاب لأني طوال الوقت كنت انتظر تفاصيل أعمق معاناتها أثناء الاكتئاب وكيف استطاعت التغلب عليه.
لم يكن واضحاً بما يكفي.
أمثلتها النسوية كانت رائعة ومنيرة حقاً. أغلب ما ذكرته حول شخصياتها الصغيرة الدرويشة والأنسة المثقفة الساخرة والأنسة التيشخوفية استطعت ان اتواصل معه على صعيد ما.
هذا الصراع بين الأمومة والابداع تحمله كل أنثى كانت كاتبة أو غيره.
لا توجد تجربة اكتئاب متشابهة أو تجربة ابداعية متشابهة أو تجربة أمومة متشابهة.
في النهاية على كل منا خوض طريقه الخاص في تجربته, على كل منا أن يكون أكثر شجاعة.
أجد أسلوب أليف سلساً وخفيفاً في معظم مؤلفاتها, لكن كون هذا الكتاب أشبه ما يكون إلى السيرة الذاتية, توقعت الأفضل من هذا.
تجرية الاكتئاب المرهقة بغض النظر عن نوعها تدوم بما يكفي لأن يستطيع المرء لمسها بقرب يكفي لأن يوثقها بأعمق التفاصيل.
أردت أن أسمع أكثر عن أليف المكتئبة, وعن دهاليزها السوداء ومتاهات الغرق خاصتها.
ليس من السهل أن يكشف المرء نفسه على الملأ خصوصاً بهذه التفاصيل, وربما بعض الكتاب يفضلون ترك مساحة تفصلهم بين قرائهم, لكن خاب أملي حين وصلت لأخر الكتاب لأني طوال الوقت كنت انتظر تفاصيل أعمق معاناتها أثناء الاكتئاب وكيف استطاعت التغلب عليه.
لم يكن واضحاً بما يكفي.
أمثلتها النسوية كانت رائعة ومنيرة حقاً. أغلب ما ذكرته حول شخصياتها الصغيرة الدرويشة والأنسة المثقفة الساخرة والأنسة التيشخوفية استطعت ان اتواصل معه على صعيد ما.
هذا الصراع بين الأمومة والابداع تحمله كل أنثى كانت كاتبة أو غيره.
لا توجد تجربة اكتئاب متشابهة أو تجربة ابداعية متشابهة أو تجربة أمومة متشابهة.
في النهاية على كل منا خوض طريقه الخاص في تجربته, على كل منا أن يكون أكثر شجاعة.
ciniscineris's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
mirasunshine's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
aliciagriggs's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this so much more than I did. It was only in the "okay" category. I liked when she wrote about different women and their experience of motherhood (or decision not to be a mother) and a writer, but I found the different "harem within" parts incredibly tedious and annoying. Ended up skipping these parts.
Perhaps this book would mean more to me if I was a mother but then again the whole reason I read this was to get a perspective of motherhood and postnatal depression. It didn't do it for me, I'm afraid.
Perhaps this book would mean more to me if I was a mother but then again the whole reason I read this was to get a perspective of motherhood and postnatal depression. It didn't do it for me, I'm afraid.
kruppam's review against another edition
4.0
"Today, we do not speak or write much about the face of motherhood that has been left in the
shadows. Instead, we thrive on two dominant teachings: the traditional view that says motherhood is
our most sacred and significant obligation and we should give up everything else for this duty; and the “modern” women’s magazine view that portrays the quintessential “superwoman” who has a career,
husband and children and is able to satisfy everyone’s needs at home and at work.
As different as these two views seem to be, they have one thing in common: They both focus
solely on what they want to see, disregarding the complexity and intensity of motherhood, and the way
in which it transforms a woman and her crystal heart."
shadows. Instead, we thrive on two dominant teachings: the traditional view that says motherhood is
our most sacred and significant obligation and we should give up everything else for this duty; and the “modern” women’s magazine view that portrays the quintessential “superwoman” who has a career,
husband and children and is able to satisfy everyone’s needs at home and at work.
As different as these two views seem to be, they have one thing in common: They both focus
solely on what they want to see, disregarding the complexity and intensity of motherhood, and the way
in which it transforms a woman and her crystal heart."