Review by mirabecker - Same As It Ever Was

mirabecker 's review for:

Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow, this was so good. It was beautifully and thoroughly written; the sentences and the story both had a delightful richness to them. I love how this book explored love and family and marriage and motherhood and the deep bruises these can imprint on you. The format of back-and-forth between past and present really aided the book's development: having the past unfold alongside the present helped build a more nuanced understanding of Julia and her actions (though, I would've liked some information to be shared a little earlier in the book). The book isn't fast-paced, but I found myself pulled into it over and over again just by how tangible the characters felt to me. Julia is an incredibly complicated character, you feel for her and resent her and pity her and celebrate her. I don't think I've ever had a character teach me so much about empathy and the difficulties of trying to love others without your own experience of love to lean on.

It's not an easy read - the themes can be heavy and emotionally complex. But it also felt like it just worked, maintaining the right balance of heavy and beautiful and plain old real. It made me think, but it also swept me off my feet and pulled me into the current of the story. I can't wait to read Lombardo's other works.

Content Warnings