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A review by andintothetrees
I'm Sorry You Feel That Way by Rebecca Wait
5.0
4.5 stars rounded up to 5 because I LOVED reading this book and couldn't put it down. I just wanted it to get a little deeper and be a little longer, it was great but I wanted more :D. In short, the novel is a wonderful character study of a family of flawed people.
SPOILER ALERT for discussion of plot points.
- I didn't buy that Paul decided to marry Celia based on one conversation. I get that he was a weak man in relationships but he had been with Anne a long time and the only thing Celia seemed to have going for her was that she was more interested in his work.
- I thought the description of Hanna's psychosis was incredibly well done and the highlight of the book. I liked that despite her being very mentally unwell at that point she was able to make a good recovery - we don't have enough stories like these. It was a bit weird for me personally to read this part as I also had significant MH problems in my first year at Cambridge in the early 2000s, like Hanna, whilst studying English, like Hanna, and subsequently had to move home for a while, like Hanna, and obviously have the same name (albeit with a different spelling).
- I really wanted to read more about Michael and Olivia's relationship. In fact that was the aspect of the novel I was most disappointed not to have explored further.
- I found it hard to believe that Alice didn't realise she was gay/bi, but Hanna knew all along? I did like the happy ending regarding this plot strand though.
SPOILER ALERT for discussion of plot points.
Spoiler
- I didn't buy that Paul decided to marry Celia based on one conversation. I get that he was a weak man in relationships but he had been with Anne a long time and the only thing Celia seemed to have going for her was that she was more interested in his work.
- I thought the description of Hanna's psychosis was incredibly well done and the highlight of the book. I liked that despite her being very mentally unwell at that point she was able to make a good recovery - we don't have enough stories like these. It was a bit weird for me personally to read this part as I also had significant MH problems in my first year at Cambridge in the early 2000s, like Hanna, whilst studying English, like Hanna, and subsequently had to move home for a while, like Hanna, and obviously have the same name (albeit with a different spelling).
- I really wanted to read more about Michael and Olivia's relationship. In fact that was the aspect of the novel I was most disappointed not to have explored further.
- I found it hard to believe that Alice didn't realise she was gay/bi, but Hanna knew all along? I did like the happy ending regarding this plot strand though.