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callie_e's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jja's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
dissendiumnox's review
3.0
3/5 • it was strangely hard to get into this book. I think it was my fault as I wasn't in the mood for this genre and I attended a wedding in which obviously I didn't have much time to read ! I was bored most of the time and the second half (when I finally got into the story) I didn't find it all that interesting. But again I am sure that my opinion would have been much much better if I had been in the mood for it.
skylar_tibbetts's review
5.0
“It was today - rather yesterday I think - that he told me it was important not to accept life as a brutal approximation… The fly that flies around me now in the dark is every fly that ever flew around me.” (3)
“I was on the verge of jumping into one of those holes in life out of which we emerge a bit tattered and bloody though we remain nonetheless sure that we had to make the jump.” (65)
“She had started the car, but turned it off as if waiting for me to complete my thought. She gave me a look of complete incomprehension, and I tried to get out of the hole I was digging. There was always the chance I could lose her if I couldn’t become a little more than myself.” (155, my favorite page in the book)
“There is the question of whether life is long enough to get over anything. I sat on the ground to avoid tipping over from the enormity of it all.” (174)
“What is thought of as leadership involved an ability to deal with thoroughly compromised situations, while I am hopefully addicted to primary colors, and the direct approach.” (250)
“I was on the verge of jumping into one of those holes in life out of which we emerge a bit tattered and bloody though we remain nonetheless sure that we had to make the jump.” (65)
“She had started the car, but turned it off as if waiting for me to complete my thought. She gave me a look of complete incomprehension, and I tried to get out of the hole I was digging. There was always the chance I could lose her if I couldn’t become a little more than myself.” (155, my favorite page in the book)
“There is the question of whether life is long enough to get over anything. I sat on the ground to avoid tipping over from the enormity of it all.” (174)
“What is thought of as leadership involved an ability to deal with thoroughly compromised situations, while I am hopefully addicted to primary colors, and the direct approach.” (250)
madiiin's review against another edition
2.0
Loved the first section that was from Dalva’s perspective, but the second, from Michael’s killed it for me. I don’t think I’ve ever liked a character less. Then I realized how pretentious and woe-is-me all the characters were in the third half and really lost interest. Whole thing over all seemed like what a man fantasizes a woman should be like.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
3.0
Three point five stars.
There are several male authors who are generally regarded as having a great ability to write from the perspective of a female character. When I read these authors I disagree with the assessment, most notably because they fail to capture the true complexity that is the essence of being a woman. Jim Harrison is an exception. With the character of Dalva, he explores all the layers of conflict and identity that are part of growing up female in a patriarchal society.
Dalva, at the age of 45, leaves California and returns to her native Nebraska. There she confronts all of her ghosts and finally recognizes that she has defined her entire life by the males she has loved and lost: her grandfather, father, first love, and then the son she was made to give up for adoption. As the book comes to an end, there's a glimmer of hope that she'll put the past to rest and start living for the present.
The subplot deals with Dalva's Sioux heritage. She's only one-eighth Indian, but her white great-grandfather was a great friend of the Sioux and left many journals. The secrets are slowly revealed as a Stanford scholar works his way through the journals.
This novel contains some excellent writing with uniquely expressed wisdom about society and life in general. I could not give it a higher rating because its construction is rather laborious and convoluted, making the reader work too hard to unearth the treasures.
sarahjsnider's review
3.0
This is hard to rate. Very little happens, and the middle third of the book was from the POV of Michael (although at least he spent a lot of time reading journals). Why was he in the novel in the first place? It's hard for me to even pinpoint his purpose. But I liked Dalva; this is not a novel with a lot of plot, but I enjoyed it because of her perspective. There is a sequel, but I don't know if I'll read it. I feel like the story ended at a place that is satisfying enough for me.
ambassadorfae's review against another edition
5.0
I drove from Philadelphia to West Virginia alone in 1993 in the pouring rain. I pulled over in a national forest, hunkered down in my hatchback with a fuzzy blanket and read this book in one astonished sitting. My first love had died in a grisly car wreck three years before. This book meant everything to me. I still carry it in my heart.
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