A review by mcrammal
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The fact that I liked this book best when I wasn’t reading it, the fact that I went through the five stages of grief each day, the fact that I can’t decide if I like it or not, but I’m glad I read it, though I would never reread it, but maybe I’ll keep it on my bookshelf and lug it around each time I move, the fact that I didn’t discover the glossary for abbreviations until I was 100 pages in, but by then I didn’t care about what they meant because there were too many of them, the fact that she sure talked a lot about movies she saw and dreams she had, the fact that I bet if you cut all that out of the book it would be down at least 200 pages, the fact that this is a 900+ pages long sentence, the fact that the timeline is undetermined and shaky, the fact that sometimes that made reading it confusing, the fact that I can’t decide if Lucy Ellmann is crazee for writing this, or a genius, the fact that maybe ask me a month from now, or two months from now, or a year from now, the fact that I’ve seen people say this is a good representation of how people thought in 2019, the fact that that feels both accurate and exaggerated, the fact that if you take too long to read this book you’ll miss all the call backs to previous thoughts, the fact that I tried to read 60 pages a day but am sure there’s plenty of call backs I missed, the fact that I hope to never again read a book that has lists and lists and lists ever again, the fact that I can’t decide if I like this book or not, the fact that phew, this really was a lot of word vomit, and I wonder if people really think this way, the fact that it made me wonder how I think, if I think in words or wordless thoughts, but I keep forgetting to try to pay attention, the fact the last sentence clause sure did wrap it up nicely, at least in my opinion, the fact that actually maybe I don’t know how I feel about it, the fact that I’m still unsure now how I feel about the work as a whole, the fact that I need to start a new normal book to reset my brain, and it’ll be a relief to read a book that has lots and lots of sentences, and paragraphs, and a timeline, instead of one big long sentence that’s occasionally cut up by a story in the perspective of a mountain lion that was searching for her babies, the fact that this book sure was an experience, and that’s all I can say about it for now.