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athenamatisse's review against another edition
5.0
What a brilliant story.
An exposé of modern middle class english life.
Complicated stuff the author has simplified in words but not in meaning. A satisfying reading experience.
An exposé of modern middle class english life.
Complicated stuff the author has simplified in words but not in meaning. A satisfying reading experience.
dieweltinbuechern's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
betweenbookends's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 :)
This book is such an incredible exploration of what it means to be alive. There's the constant argument of how inconsequential, insignificant our lives are in the grand scale of things and yet how ridiculously self important we feel. Sarah Moss doesn't shy away from being very current in her setting and story. Certain references I felt were very British and went over my head, but besides a few rare sections, it didn't in any way inhibit my reading pleasure of this book. And the writing is just stunning. This book is an experience, I felt myself living and breathing with the characters and it feels like they are carrying on with their own lives but I just am not reading about them anymore. Read it, read it. Read it.
This book is such an incredible exploration of what it means to be alive. There's the constant argument of how inconsequential, insignificant our lives are in the grand scale of things and yet how ridiculously self important we feel. Sarah Moss doesn't shy away from being very current in her setting and story. Certain references I felt were very British and went over my head, but besides a few rare sections, it didn't in any way inhibit my reading pleasure of this book. And the writing is just stunning. This book is an experience, I felt myself living and breathing with the characters and it feels like they are carrying on with their own lives but I just am not reading about them anymore. Read it, read it. Read it.
kitty_kat21's review against another edition
2.0
One of the biggest disappointments of the year. The first chapter was amazing but that was it. I HATED Miriam, she is the most pretentious teenager ever. I strongly disliked Adam and his stay-at-home father martyrdom. I skipped over the boring cathedral parts and fumed over the derogatory commentary on the working class. Basically any one who works at a nursery school or a worker in a leisure centre is uneducated and we must not be like them at all costs. This whole book epitomises FIRST WORLD MIDDLE CLASS PROBLEMS and I just was so over it. Adam's wife is a GP and so he shamelessly jumps the queue for test results or consultations with specialists, above people who actually have severely sick children and need the NHS because they have no other option. Ugh this book just made me feel icky and it is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with British society. A state of the nation book indeed.
esther_a_'s review against another edition
5.0
Great writing, captivating and a range of emotions.
At first I found the parts about the cathedral random but throughout the book it connected more and I could enjoy the architectural aspects.
At first I found the parts about the cathedral random but throughout the book it connected more and I could enjoy the architectural aspects.
bruntosaur's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. Reminded me of Ali Smith but on the slushy side of sentimental.
royaz92's review against another edition
5.0
I still do not understand why I enjoyed this book so much; normally you know why you love a book. It's either a character, or the plot, or the twists, or the theme. Why was it then, for me? All of it, and none of it. It was everything.
liviatr's review against another edition
i appreciate that the author was trying to make the writing ‘artistic’ and ‘poetic’ but it just didn’t work.
morbidplot's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Medical content
milesjmoran's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of those books that swallows you up completely within a matter of pages. The heartache at the core of this family is powerfully tangible throughout, your bones aching the entire time. Aspects of this novel could be painted as depressing, handling its subject matter with the gravity it deserves without sweetening it to rotten, yet I would assert that Moss has not crafted a dreary story. These characters are real to us and we dearly care about them, even if we don't fully understand or comprehend them as people. Everyone is faulted; the GP mother Emma who seems more dedicated to her work than her family at times, the youngest daughter Rose who is jealous of the attention her sister is getting, Miriam who is frustrated at her own failing body, and, at the centre, the father Adam, who is overwhelmed and floundering. I am so excited to read more of Sarah Moss' work, as this book has demonstrated her great skill and unique voice.