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A review by wendyblacke
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
5.0
I learned about this book from a couple of amazing book pals on Instagram when they invited me to their group read. I hadn't heard of this book before but a quick Googling had me intrigued.
Lucy Ellman has done something unique with this book. I have never seen a woman, much less a mother, portrayed with such a profound depth in a book before. I felt connected with the narrator's love of her children, thoughts of her community, and fears of the society she lives in. The stream-of-consciousness way the book is written, without full stops or paragraph breaks (aside from the gentle interruptions of the second storyline) made this read very meditative for me. Diving back into the narrator's thoughts each day became a comfort to me.
I also struggled with this book at times, and that is the only thing that stopped me from giving this 5 stars. By the half-way point, I was starting to feel like everything the author intended me to feel and experience had already passed and I wasn't gaining anything new with each passing page. However, by the last 20% of the book it got really interesting to me again.
I'm so glad I stuck it out and finished this book. Many in our reading group didn't. This book has the capacity to make you laugh, cry, get pissed off, wallow in ennui, and sometimes you'll do all of those things on one page. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something a little different, something intimate and all-encompassing, and something with a great deal of heart.
Update: days after finishing and having time to process this book, I had to upgrade to 5 stars. What Lucy did with this book was genius.
Lucy Ellman has done something unique with this book. I have never seen a woman, much less a mother, portrayed with such a profound depth in a book before. I felt connected with the narrator's love of her children, thoughts of her community, and fears of the society she lives in. The stream-of-consciousness way the book is written, without full stops or paragraph breaks (aside from the gentle interruptions of the second storyline) made this read very meditative for me. Diving back into the narrator's thoughts each day became a comfort to me.
I also struggled with this book at times, and that is the only thing that stopped me from giving this 5 stars. By the half-way point, I was starting to feel like everything the author intended me to feel and experience had already passed and I wasn't gaining anything new with each passing page. However, by the last 20% of the book it got really interesting to me again.
I'm so glad I stuck it out and finished this book. Many in our reading group didn't. This book has the capacity to make you laugh, cry, get pissed off, wallow in ennui, and sometimes you'll do all of those things on one page. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something a little different, something intimate and all-encompassing, and something with a great deal of heart.
Update: days after finishing and having time to process this book, I had to upgrade to 5 stars. What Lucy did with this book was genius.