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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
9/10 : I saw this book in the library & picked it up based on the beautiful cover alone. The premise of this story is a modern reworking of the Ancient Greek mythology, Oedipus, of which I know only but the bare bones about {Google it}. As the tale begins, we are immediately thrown into a life lived on the water, the book catapults from one person to another, back & forth remembering stories from the river, until the mysteries slowly unravel, & the truths reveal themselves. Identity, language & fear are key themes, a deeply unsettling existence with so much meaning. I was really engrossed throughout, & found it a fascinating read. I struggled at first with the lack of speech marks, but you quickly get past that.
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
No
4'5★ Es un libro fascinante y extraño, con una prosa preciosa llena de alusiones al agua y a la naturaleza. Necesito aún procesarlo y ver que impacto que me deja.
What a wild ride. It was difficult to wade through the first third when I truly didn't know what was happening. Once it got going, I was sucked into the story and intrigued. As others have stated, the imagery, the connotations, the symbolism are all beautiful. However, I was left at the end wondering what it all meant- what was the point of all of this?
Summary:
Summary:
Spoiler
A re-telling of Oedipus Rex. Gretel grew up with her mother, Sarah, alongside a river. One winter, when Gretel is still young, a young man named Marcus comes to stay near them. In alternate chapters, in the present, Gretel searches for her mother, who left when she was 16 and never returned. She contemplates what happened that winter. Marcus was actually Margot, who was Sarah's first daughter. Margot was found and adopted by a couple, and formed a relationship with Fiona, a trans-woman who lived next door who had a gift of knowing. Fiona told Margot her future and urged her to run away. Margot ran away, stayed with a man named Charlie for a while on a house boat and accidentally killed him. She became Marcus, the man that stayed with Sarah and Gretel. Turns out Charlie was actually her father, and Marcus definitely sleeps with Sarah- therefore fulfilling the prophecy. In a confusing and seemingly meaningless and depressing ending, Marcus drowns while trying to catch the mysterious creature called the Bonak. In the present, Gretel and Sarah kill and eat the Bonak. Sarah suffers from dementia and eventually commits suicide.
The blurb suggested this would be unsettling and it was. Im not good with eery generally and definitely put me off running on the canal. I got a bit confused with characters coming & going/swapping. Some beautiful characterisation though and made me want to be a lexicographer.
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I really wanted to like this book. The themes around the lexicographer and the secret language (so fun!) were really interesting, as was the exploration of dementia and ageing and the mother-daughter relationship. I would have loved to see these explored further.
I enjoyed the houseboat setting and contrasting it with the sections that took place in houses. I would have loved to hear more about it as it would be a very fun and visual element.
Unfortunately, to me, all of this got lost in the prose, which felt weird and murky and like it was trying too hard to be mysterious.
I enjoyed the houseboat setting and contrasting it with the sections that took place in houses. I would have loved to hear more about it as it would be a very fun and visual element.
Unfortunately, to me, all of this got lost in the prose, which felt weird and murky and like it was trying too hard to be mysterious.
Tengo un montón de sentimientos encontrados respecto a esta lectura. Por un lado puedo ver la maestría y brillantez con la que Daisy Johnson escribe y describe y nos arrastra en su historia, nos da los detalles justos en los momentos justos, la trama y personajes se van desenredando poco a poco y es ahí donde considero que su escritura se luce más, en decir y transmitir tanto con tan poco. Me ha tenido muy tensa, casi nerviosa, completamente metida en la narración.
Sin embargo tengo un pero —un pero muy grande, a decir verdad— y es que la historia en sí no me ha gustado apenas; es más, se me ha hecho desagradable, grotesca y exageradísima. Me ha parecido que quería meter tantas subtramas, explorar tantos temas, tantos sentimientos diferentes y complejos, que al final cuando se desvela la imagen completa todo lo que veo es un lío tremendo.
Sin embargo tengo un pero —un pero muy grande, a decir verdad— y es que la historia en sí no me ha gustado apenas; es más, se me ha hecho desagradable, grotesca y exageradísima. Me ha parecido que quería meter tantas subtramas, explorar tantos temas, tantos sentimientos diferentes y complejos, que al final cuando se desvela la imagen completa todo lo que veo es un lío tremendo.
slow-paced
really weird book. maybe not quite four stars but the exploration of the mother/daughter relationship and dementia were so so five stars, so uniquely done and hard-hitting, the rest i could take or leave.