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veraspoonie's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hdellabella's review against another edition
3.0
I'm pretty unsure how I feel about this book; I think my main issue with it was its total deviation from a linear structure. Not to say that non-linear is bad, but often we would jump from Eileen at 22 to Eileen at 34 from paragraph to paragraph, and it was hard to keep up with where we were in time. The writing itself was enjoyable and definitely flavored by her poet's instinct, but I found it hard to keep up with all the secondary characters in the book (especially with the time jumps). But Myles did have nice insights into the life of a poet, especially one struggling to come to terms with her sexuality.
punxlit's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
corpuslibris's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the first section of this book. Funny and thought-provoking and evocative. I devoured it on an airplane. I laughed out loud. I underlined and asterisked in the margins. I told people about how good it was. But I was a little nervous to continue -- I had a sinking feeling that I would be disappointed by the later sections. And I was. But then, towards the end, it got good again. Occasionally the style reminded me of Gertrude Stein (in her more cogent moments). There were hysterical moments and great lines. So I'm okay with the 3 star marking: smack dab in the middle.
nina_serrianne's review against another edition
2.0
First and foremost, this is not a novel. Each sentence barely relates to one another. I hated the first 150 pages. It got a bit better in the middle. The book finally becomes decent when Myles comes out and is pretty good the last 35 pages or so. Overall this book is a mess. Stream of consciousness and name dropping in a way that just doesn’t work. Every pages feels to pick up in the middle of a thought. Some incredibly powerful sentences or paragraphs but didn’t make up for the (narcissistic?) ramblings for almost 300 pages. I can’t believe I actually made it though this book. Womp.
kellymce's review against another edition
4.0
If only my flight had been 20 minutes longer, I would've read it in one fell swoop.
limeade17's review against another edition
2.0
I appreciate this book and I am glad it exists, but Myles isn't someone I will seek out to re-read.