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zoboomafoo9's review
emotional
slow-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
4.25
Ah, more domestic ennui and objectless yearning. Left feeling empty, but in a good way? Haunting, lyrical prose and rumination on the dreariness of life and love. Loved the interjections from Ovid’s stories. The listlessness she feels over losing romantic love in her life, trying so desperately to find it again, to later accept her situation and use the love she has in other ways, was kinda beautiful. Felt like I was missing something with the conclusion.
gleefulreader's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book which I finished at the end of December. It is definitely not plot driven, but rather a character study. The unnamed protagonist is a woman in later middle age who has retreated to a condo in Miami to determine whether or not she should give up on love or contemplate a solitary life. She is surrounded by an unusual cast of characters, and spends her days caring for her dying cat, her nearly-invalid mother and translating Ovid. A slower book, with lots to consider. I can see myself re-reading this in the future.
rbreade's review
Alison's prose is beautiful in this story of oddly matched elements: a solitary translator of Ovid at work in a gradually crumbling high-rise apartment in decadent Miami. The translator-narrator's pastime includes observing/spying on other occupants of her high-rise as well as those nearby, a narrative strand that plays as Rear Window without the murder, though incisively detailed all the same.
rachel_the_managing_editor's review
5.0
4.78 stars
Hey, here's a new book I actually appreciated (which is saying something for me). With its short chapters, lush sensory descriptions, and confessional tone, this book feels like a meditation. A meditation on what it means and feels like to be alone. The doubts and questions, the justifications and desires and hopes. All of it. A meditation on finding love and life in strange and often unexpected places.
A quiet book, but one with a deep resonance.
Hey, here's a new book I actually appreciated (which is saying something for me). With its short chapters, lush sensory descriptions, and confessional tone, this book feels like a meditation. A meditation on what it means and feels like to be alone. The doubts and questions, the justifications and desires and hopes. All of it. A meditation on finding love and life in strange and often unexpected places.
A quiet book, but one with a deep resonance.
starness's review
4.0
“I’m not old yet, but my heart is sick with old desire,”
I'm hovering between a 3 and 4 star but I'll bump it up to a 4 due to its originality, this is narrative poetry, the words glide on the page and before you know it you've been swept up in it's lyrical beauty. Rich evocative descriptions that are also short, tight and snappy every sentence a treasure trove of gold. Introspective thoughtful observant nuggets. I could list so many sentences that sang to me and made my heart revel in this delightful internal monologue, a woman questioning her worth as an older redundant? woman. Her descriptions of her little slice of Miami make this book visually alive. Her descriptions of her surroundings are my favourite part as the plot is meandering more observations than anything, with the theme of loneliness, aging and her imaginations of fantasy, reminiscing of lost youth and sexual vigour.
She's obviously inspired heavily by Ovid as a lot of references are littered throughout and gives it a strong literary style, it's not an easy read and it's not a book that can be read with distractions. It's a book that warrants your undivided attention as there is so much there to absorb. Some passages I had to reread as it's not the style I'm accustomed to after awhile though I got a little fatigued with the narrative style and looked forward to reading a straight novel again, so I'm guessing this is a book that requires a certain type of reader who likes their books slightly off centre that's easy to read but demands some concentration.
I'm hovering between a 3 and 4 star but I'll bump it up to a 4 due to its originality, this is narrative poetry, the words glide on the page and before you know it you've been swept up in it's lyrical beauty. Rich evocative descriptions that are also short, tight and snappy every sentence a treasure trove of gold. Introspective thoughtful observant nuggets. I could list so many sentences that sang to me and made my heart revel in this delightful internal monologue, a woman questioning her worth as an older redundant? woman. Her descriptions of her little slice of Miami make this book visually alive. Her descriptions of her surroundings are my favourite part as the plot is meandering more observations than anything, with the theme of loneliness, aging and her imaginations of fantasy, reminiscing of lost youth and sexual vigour.
She's obviously inspired heavily by Ovid as a lot of references are littered throughout and gives it a strong literary style, it's not an easy read and it's not a book that can be read with distractions. It's a book that warrants your undivided attention as there is so much there to absorb. Some passages I had to reread as it's not the style I'm accustomed to after awhile though I got a little fatigued with the narrative style and looked forward to reading a straight novel again, so I'm guessing this is a book that requires a certain type of reader who likes their books slightly off centre that's easy to read but demands some concentration.
tbsims's review
4.0
a great way with words. And drawing a picture. And navigating a path... with a satisfying ending.
nicolewrites's review
1.0
I had such high hopes for this book, as it was hyped up on Booktube. But I really didn't enjoy it. I disliked both the subject and the writing. I nearly stopped reading several times, but kept reading in hopes it would improve. I do not recommend.
lifesaverscandyofficial's review
volcel canon
"And maybe that's enough. To have had some love some time. Even if it worked only awhile. Even if it only worked only awhile. It's enough to have had some once and now to live with just pieces of it, and it's all right if you spend what you still have on an old cat or duck, a few friends, your mother. Not everyone is paired on the ark."
kemilyh1988's review
3.0
Won in a Goodreads Giveaway. I was not loving it at the start, but it definitely grew on me. Her inner dialogue was smart and honest. The prose was lovely and I truly was engaged. Also, the duck and Buster were sweet in their own ways. Quite good!