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dee9401's review
2.0
I've always wanted to read Jane Bowles, as I've read everything her husband Paul Bowles wrote. I almost picked up "My Sister's Hand in Mine", her collected works, several times. I finally saw an old edition of her only novel at the Southwark Book Market in London in 2013 and almost bought. This primed me, so that when we were in Boulder in April this year, I bought this new edition from the Boulder Book Store, a fantastic indy bookstore right on Pearl Street. I finally got a chance to read it this weekend.
I was a bit disappointed. I never engaged with the characters. I thought the language was stilted at times and mostly written in Hemingway-esque short, simple sentences, which I don't like.
But, I did think there were a lot of possibilities, especially with the storyline of Mrs. Copperfield and her husband. In some ways, this reminded me of the story of Kit & Port Moresby from her husband's first novel, The Sheltering Sky. It explored themes of fear, travel vs. tourism and exploring and expanding boundaries. Jane Bowles novel was published six years before Paul's, so I wonder if he was influenced by her work and explored some of the same themes in his writing.
I was a bit disappointed. I never engaged with the characters. I thought the language was stilted at times and mostly written in Hemingway-esque short, simple sentences, which I don't like.
But, I did think there were a lot of possibilities, especially with the storyline of Mrs. Copperfield and her husband. In some ways, this reminded me of the story of Kit & Port Moresby from her husband's first novel, The Sheltering Sky. It explored themes of fear, travel vs. tourism and exploring and expanding boundaries. Jane Bowles novel was published six years before Paul's, so I wonder if he was influenced by her work and explored some of the same themes in his writing.
maura_kathleen's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
Yet another ambitious novel that I read under an overly ambitious deadline for one of my college courses (Scranton's creative writing course). I mostly remember it being quite strange. I couldn't think of the name of the title just now and tried to figure it out by searching "novel about older women journeying to South America?" -- this was not very helpful, and I found it instead by going into my Amazon order history to find that I had purchased it for class. I have no idea what happened to it afterward; presumably it got swept away in the purge that my parents performed without my full cooperation or consent when they divorced and sold our home.
(Declining to provide star ratings for books that I last read before 2019.)
(Declining to provide star ratings for books that I last read before 2019.)
mmw2024's review against another edition
2.0
Read for book club interesting but didn't actually like it much
booktokbrie's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
haudurn's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Unwelcoming novel that I nonetheless was compelled to finish
The characters don't seem to like each other but are drawn to spend time and move in with almost utter strangers
Conversations are very odd and incongruous. Everyone has a lot of nervousness and anxiety
Jane Bowles and her husband seem obsessed with wealthy women prostituting themselves to men of lower social status as some sort of act of redemption
The characters don't seem to like each other but are drawn to spend time and move in with almost utter strangers
Conversations are very odd and incongruous. Everyone has a lot of nervousness and anxiety
Jane Bowles and her husband seem obsessed with wealthy women prostituting themselves to men of lower social status as some sort of act of redemption
charmedlassie's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated