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A review by amber_hastings
Holding Her Breath: A Novel by Eimear Ryan
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A literary novel that feels like a blend of Sally Rooney and other coming of age novels, dark academia stories, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
I was pretty compelled by main character Beth, and I felt like she was believable and relatable.
It took me a while to get past the disparity between Beth's rich inner world described by the narrator versus the very minimalist dialogue that Beth has with other characters. I wasn't quite convinced she was a psych student, but I was pretty convinced by all the other decisions she made. Other reviewers mention thay too much attention was paid to Justin, but I think that was deliberate. I think Beth needed to have gone through that experience to really relate to her grandmother and grandfather. Without experiencing love and rejection in that way, I don't think she'd have been so generous in understanding Julie. I was gobsmacked when she learns the truth about Justin, and related a lot to that, though I'd like to have seen a bit more emotion in Beth as a response to it.
I loved Beth's uneasy transition from competitive to varsity swimmer and felt this was convincing. The swimming completion towards the end was a bit of a letdown, though. I know that her lack of discipline and focus and practise was meant to reflect that she had other things finally going on in her life, but I'd have liked to see her engage with her poor performance, and to see that play out with her dad. But I guess we're meant to know that her withdrawal from swimming competitively at elite level was still an ongoing sticking point with her dad.
The ending with Julie was unexpected but a good way to add a twist to the Ben mystery. I didn't feel particularly compelled by Ben throughout and so having a bit more detail about Lydia via Julie was helpful in keeping up the interest about his life.
It was also interesting to form a parallel between Beth and Marina with Lydia and Julie. I don't think it was quite necessary, or perhaps was pulled off, given that Beth appeared to have no emotional response to Marina, but I do like the ambition — Beth and Marina understood each other in the same way Lydia and Julie could, and it's something others on the outside couldn't.
I think what let the novel down for me was that everything (the plot, the character development, the connection between plotlines) felt about 90% there but could have perhaps been tied together more strongly.
Regardless I enjoyed reading it.
I was pretty compelled by main character Beth, and I felt like she was believable and relatable.
It took me a while to get past the disparity between Beth's rich inner world described by the narrator versus the very minimalist dialogue that Beth has with other characters. I wasn't quite convinced she was a psych student, but I was pretty convinced by all the other decisions she made. Other reviewers mention thay too much attention was paid to Justin, but I think that was deliberate. I think Beth needed to have gone through that experience to really relate to her grandmother and grandfather. Without experiencing love and rejection in that way, I don't think she'd have been so generous in understanding Julie. I was gobsmacked when she learns the truth about Justin, and related a lot to that, though I'd like to have seen a bit more emotion in Beth as a response to it.
I loved Beth's uneasy transition from competitive to varsity swimmer and felt this was convincing. The swimming completion towards the end was a bit of a letdown, though. I know that her lack of discipline and focus and practise was meant to reflect that she had other things finally going on in her life, but I'd have liked to see her engage with her poor performance, and to see that play out with her dad. But I guess we're meant to know that her withdrawal from swimming competitively at elite level was still an ongoing sticking point with her dad.
The ending with Julie was unexpected but a good way to add a twist to the Ben mystery. I didn't feel particularly compelled by Ben throughout and so having a bit more detail about Lydia via Julie was helpful in keeping up the interest about his life.
It was also interesting to form a parallel between Beth and Marina with Lydia and Julie. I don't think it was quite necessary, or perhaps was pulled off, given that Beth appeared to have no emotional response to Marina, but I do like the ambition — Beth and Marina understood each other in the same way Lydia and Julie could, and it's something others on the outside couldn't.
I think what let the novel down for me was that everything (the plot, the character development, the connection between plotlines) felt about 90% there but could have perhaps been tied together more strongly.
Regardless I enjoyed reading it.