Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Dry Heart

In many ways a very atypical book, written from the perspective of a fairly naïve and unambitious character. The prose style is very judicious, almost cold, which I really liked, and I enjoyed hearing the perspective of a female main character who appeared about as far from an author self-insert as you can get. Her passivity is frustrating at times and tragic at others. We know at the beginning that she shoots her husband, so the book asks us to look at what led her to that. The resulting text is a dark portrait of marriage in which a woman's job is endure until she can endure no longer. The final lines were evocative, and while I initially found them unsatisfying, I have come to appreciate the author's decision to choose a fate for the main character that calls into question her purpose in her husband's absence.

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justasking27's review

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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bookiesncreme's review

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dark sad medium-paced

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issyt's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found it a really intriguing book but because we are told what was going to happen at the end at the start I found the ending to be quite anticlimactic.

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