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nicole_bookmarked's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
tararoi_'s review against another edition
3.0
I don't think this trilogy was very convincing. This is because I've never read this genre before.
Faye comes off as an interviewer, a collector of conversations, and ultimately, a collector of personal lives. She is a fly on the wall, as she sits and listens to people talk about themselves. The last book has triggered a lot of feelings about this trilogy.
How DO you convince people, complete strangers, to talk about their most personal issues, ie their family and relationships? Faye somehow gets these people to serve up their lives on a plate (in some cases, they are conveniently drunk). She barely talkes about herself. Is it an observation of how people love to talk about themselves?
She interviews these people, and sometimes she asks questions. Otherwise it is just a chain of monologues just flowing seamlessly.
The lives of the people she meets are so glamorous, and dare I say, very cliché. But c'est la vie.
Finally, towards the end, the interviewer becomes the interviewee. Aha! She talks about her son (and her son only).
Then her son calls. There has been a problem and he has no one else to confide in. And this is the only time when her name is mentioned in this book.
" 'Faye,' he said fractiously, 'will you just listen?' "
He is remarkably human- irritated, and scared even, compared to the rest of the characters
As always, she is the listener, but she consoles him. This time it feels real. It is her son. However, I still don't have a clue about this particular mother and son dynamic.
This exchange of words triggers something in her.
We see her observing things in complete silence now. Faye is on the beach. There are no words spoken. She confronts a problem. But she does is passively- she waits for the problem to stop.
A thought provoking series.
It would be interesting to read the series again in the near future and see what i feel about it.
Faye comes off as an interviewer, a collector of conversations, and ultimately, a collector of personal lives. She is a fly on the wall, as she sits and listens to people talk about themselves. The last book has triggered a lot of feelings about this trilogy.
How DO you convince people, complete strangers, to talk about their most personal issues, ie their family and relationships? Faye somehow gets these people to serve up their lives on a plate (in some cases, they are conveniently drunk). She barely talkes about herself. Is it an observation of how people love to talk about themselves?
She interviews these people, and sometimes she asks questions. Otherwise it is just a chain of monologues just flowing seamlessly.
The lives of the people she meets are so glamorous, and dare I say, very cliché. But c'est la vie.
Finally, towards the end, the interviewer becomes the interviewee. Aha! She talks about her son (and her son only).
Then her son calls. There has been a problem and he has no one else to confide in. And this is the only time when her name is mentioned in this book.
" 'Faye,' he said fractiously, 'will you just listen?' "
He is remarkably human- irritated, and scared even, compared to the rest of the characters
As always, she is the listener, but she consoles him. This time it feels real. It is her son. However, I still don't have a clue about this particular mother and son dynamic.
This exchange of words triggers something in her.
We see her observing things in complete silence now. Faye is on the beach. There are no words spoken. She confronts a problem. But she does is passively- she waits for the problem to stop.
A thought provoking series.
It would be interesting to read the series again in the near future and see what i feel about it.
elmo_isnotmyname's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
dostoevskys's review against another edition
reflective
slow-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
4.0
enjoyed as much as the first! that makes the second one a fluke for me, but overall i loved cusk's ruminations on the self, life, relationships and literature and publishing
bllplank's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fbroom's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't love this one as much as I loved Outline and Transit.
noesie's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0