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A review by frasersimons
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
5.0
This is so stylistically and structurally unique that I’d have probably gotten enough satisfaction just from those elements. But in the extreme stream-of-consciousness of our quintessential Ohioan housewife there is a whole lot to unpack.
It is somewhat difficult to read. Not because it’s like 8 run on sentences separated with commas. But because within the stream there are so many references to media and memories and other associations. It’s emergent thinking. Not wholly unedited, of course. It’s self evident there is a lot of writer craft at work to make this consumable. The sentence construction, the timing of the references, and the length of the sentences themselves, all signal to the reader when the natural breathing points are. And the references will send your own mind out on spirals that mimic the digressions of the protagonist, so you’ll naturally be pausing.
I did sometimes get a bit too day dreamy and in my own head after some time though. I would take short breaks every 50 pages or so and then come back to it. And I think that’s sort of meant to be. The longer the text you’ve consumed percolates the more connections you’ll draw between things.
And things do coalesce quite a bit; more than I’d expected, actually. There begins to be some reoccurring themes. Mostly, they centre on modern anxieties such as gun violence, climate change, media consumption, political ramifications of Trump in office, pollution, the generational gap between herself and her kids, and death, in general.
These all become the centrifugal force with which our housewife orbits continually, which then draws them in sharper definition. They end up encapsulating the 2017-2018 “moment” of life in western culture and the US incredibly vividly. And, later, the sort-of plot situates those subjects directly into the housewife’s life. There is masterful foreshadowing at work.
It’s also just mesmeric and beautiful. Thoughts you’ve had, or ones like them, will appear from time to time, and those create a bond between the text and reader that rivals the empathy felt for other characters in other books, in my experience. Within the granularity there is a universal human experience that resonates.
Absolutely fantastic read and I think one id re read in the future. Recommend it as an off and on side book with other goings on. Take your time with it and be patient with yourself. It’s in no hurry (though the last 100+ pages will be gripping—I won’t say why).
It is somewhat difficult to read. Not because it’s like 8 run on sentences separated with commas. But because within the stream there are so many references to media and memories and other associations. It’s emergent thinking. Not wholly unedited, of course. It’s self evident there is a lot of writer craft at work to make this consumable. The sentence construction, the timing of the references, and the length of the sentences themselves, all signal to the reader when the natural breathing points are. And the references will send your own mind out on spirals that mimic the digressions of the protagonist, so you’ll naturally be pausing.
I did sometimes get a bit too day dreamy and in my own head after some time though. I would take short breaks every 50 pages or so and then come back to it. And I think that’s sort of meant to be. The longer the text you’ve consumed percolates the more connections you’ll draw between things.
And things do coalesce quite a bit; more than I’d expected, actually. There begins to be some reoccurring themes. Mostly, they centre on modern anxieties such as gun violence, climate change, media consumption, political ramifications of Trump in office, pollution, the generational gap between herself and her kids, and death, in general.
These all become the centrifugal force with which our housewife orbits continually, which then draws them in sharper definition. They end up encapsulating the 2017-2018 “moment” of life in western culture and the US incredibly vividly. And, later, the sort-of plot situates those subjects directly into the housewife’s life. There is masterful foreshadowing at work.
It’s also just mesmeric and beautiful. Thoughts you’ve had, or ones like them, will appear from time to time, and those create a bond between the text and reader that rivals the empathy felt for other characters in other books, in my experience. Within the granularity there is a universal human experience that resonates.
Absolutely fantastic read and I think one id re read in the future. Recommend it as an off and on side book with other goings on. Take your time with it and be patient with yourself. It’s in no hurry (though the last 100+ pages will be gripping—I won’t say why).