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mredhead's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jlene's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Sad and funny. So insightful and beautifully written. I have to agree with the reviews. Toews at her finest.
earthtomanda's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow. This book had me laughing while sobbing, and changed the way I look at things. I definitely need to re-read it when I’m not under a time pressure to finish it for school.
skeltonse's review against another edition
Definitely tops the list of books I would have told my father not to read, and yet also one of the books I’m most glad he has read.
„I learned another thing, which is that just because someone is eating the ashes of your protagonist doesn't mean you stop telling the story.“
„It was a typical prairie storm, angry with the dryness it had been forced to endure.“
„The coldest city in the world and yet the hottest, the farthest from the sun and yet the brightest, where two fierce, wild rivers meet to join forces and conquer man“
„Everyone in the whole world was fighting with somebody to stay.
„I learned another thing, which is that just because someone is eating the ashes of your protagonist doesn't mean you stop telling the story.“
„It was a typical prairie storm, angry with the dryness it had been forced to endure.“
„The coldest city in the world and yet the hottest, the farthest from the sun and yet the brightest, where two fierce, wild rivers meet to join forces and conquer man“
„Everyone in the whole world was fighting with somebody to stay.
When Richard Bach wrote "If you love someone, set them free" he can't have been directing his advice at human beings.“
„and I finally
„and I finally
understand what she needs to hear…and I tell her that my sorrow was not created by her, that my childhood was a joyful thing, an island in the sun, that her mothering is impeccable, that she is not to blame.“
„…it was ludicrous to think that we could just talk our way out of shame, that shame was necessary, that it prevented us from repeating shameful actions and that it motivated us to say we were sorry and to seek forgiveness and to empathize with our fellow humans and to feel the pain of self-loathing which motivated some of us to write books as a futile attempt at atonement, and shame also helped, I told my friend, to fuck up relationships and fucked-up relationships are the life force of books and movies and theatre so sure, let's get rid of shame but then we can kiss art goodbye too“
„She told me that the brain is built to forget things as we continue to live, that memories are meant to fade and disintegrate“
„…it was ludicrous to think that we could just talk our way out of shame, that shame was necessary, that it prevented us from repeating shameful actions and that it motivated us to say we were sorry and to seek forgiveness and to empathize with our fellow humans and to feel the pain of self-loathing which motivated some of us to write books as a futile attempt at atonement, and shame also helped, I told my friend, to fuck up relationships and fucked-up relationships are the life force of books and movies and theatre so sure, let's get rid of shame but then we can kiss art goodbye too“
„She told me that the brain is built to forget things as we continue to live, that memories are meant to fade and disintegrate“
sararead23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
amandap716's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't even finish this book which is surprising considering how much my book friends loved it.
jjacobi's review against another edition
4.0
Elf and Yoli are two adult sisters struggle on opposing sides of mortality: Yoli wants live, Elf wants to die. Told from Yoli's point of view, the story is a crushing, real, emotionally rich look into depression and the limits of love.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It took me awhile to adjust to Toews' storytelling style. The whole book reads almost as someone recounting a conversation they had. I found it one-dimensional at first, but it grew on me; the end result is a connection with the narrator (Yoli) that I have not felt with a book in awhile. Additionally, the book has very little plot - Elf tries to kill herself, the family reacts, Elf tries to kill herself, the family reacts, etc. I know, it sounds awful. But, somehow, it's not awful. The pain you feel is not Elf's: the family feels her pain. Through Yoli's telling of it, you feel their pain.
Anyone who loves their family and worries about them constantly will find plenty to identify with in this book. There were so many truly real moments where I found myself cringing with empathy. It's a brutally sad story, but beautifully real.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It took me awhile to adjust to Toews' storytelling style. The whole book reads almost as someone recounting a conversation they had. I found it one-dimensional at first, but it grew on me; the end result is a connection with the narrator (Yoli) that I have not felt with a book in awhile. Additionally, the book has very little plot - Elf tries to kill herself, the family reacts, Elf tries to kill herself, the family reacts, etc. I know, it sounds awful. But, somehow, it's not awful. The pain you feel is not Elf's: the family feels her pain. Through Yoli's telling of it, you feel their pain.
Anyone who loves their family and worries about them constantly will find plenty to identify with in this book. There were so many truly real moments where I found myself cringing with empathy. It's a brutally sad story, but beautifully real.
jordieisreading's review against another edition
5.0
I never know how to describe this book when telling people about it. Unbearably beautiful and honest. Heart-wrenching. Surprisingly hilarious. Probably the best love story ever written.
jadap1996's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced