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A review by jamikrut
The Bradshaw Variations by Rachel Cusk
4.0
http://abookofadifferentcolor.blogspot.com
I won this book on a first-reads giveaway and although I think the description on the back cover of the book needs serious attention, I really liked it. I feel apologetic saying that because of the lukewarm response this book as gotten on Goodreads, but I shall not let other reviews color my first impressions.
Usually, I don't like and try to avoid books that are just about stuff. Books that are just about people's lives but are magnificently well written. I must have been in the right frame of mind today because I really enjoyed this book. For example, Jonathan Franzen's style is very similar to Cusk's, but not once during this book did I want to throw it across the room and refuse to finish it. Unlike Franzen, Cusk's characters are full - they have a round, three-dimensional quality to them that makes them pop off the page.
I felt myself wondering how Rachel Cusk would describe my own life if she were looking in on it with her literary eye. Her descriptions are very beautiful and some ring truer than others. I especially liked the description of the gay piano playing couple. I could feel the exasperation that Benjamen felt for his partner when the partner encroached on the lesson. This was one of the best written passages in the book!
I suppose the biggest problem with this book is one that has already been pointed out, that this is a perfectly normal life and all of the characters are so desperately unhappy with the lives that they lead. A woman goes to work while her husband stays home with the daughter. Tonie is deeply unsatisfied and is drifting, and Thomas is trying to find satisfaction in the piano of all things. In another couple, Claudia just wants to paint, but can't seem to make time for herself because she feels so oppressed by her non-oppressive husband.
My all time favorite passage was: "The truth is that for the past week Thomas as worked on the adagio like a solitary prisoner tunneling under the fortress walls. It has felt like cheating just as it did when he studied all night to pass an exam, or got through the tedium of meetings by knowing more than anyone else, or planned down the last detail his strategy of attracting the attention of a woman he liked." Incredible - I love this description because this is how I feel All. The. Time.
I'm not sure if I will read other Cusk novels, because this isn't at all the type of book that I usually enjoy. The description of emotion and feelings often means that there are few descriptions of actual action, but this book was beautiful and I very glad that I was a first reads recipient.
You can also check out my review at: http://abookofadifferentcolor.blogspot.com
Happy Reading!!
I won this book on a first-reads giveaway and although I think the description on the back cover of the book needs serious attention, I really liked it. I feel apologetic saying that because of the lukewarm response this book as gotten on Goodreads, but I shall not let other reviews color my first impressions.
Usually, I don't like and try to avoid books that are just about stuff. Books that are just about people's lives but are magnificently well written. I must have been in the right frame of mind today because I really enjoyed this book. For example, Jonathan Franzen's style is very similar to Cusk's, but not once during this book did I want to throw it across the room and refuse to finish it. Unlike Franzen, Cusk's characters are full - they have a round, three-dimensional quality to them that makes them pop off the page.
I felt myself wondering how Rachel Cusk would describe my own life if she were looking in on it with her literary eye. Her descriptions are very beautiful and some ring truer than others. I especially liked the description of the gay piano playing couple. I could feel the exasperation that Benjamen felt for his partner when the partner encroached on the lesson. This was one of the best written passages in the book!
I suppose the biggest problem with this book is one that has already been pointed out, that this is a perfectly normal life and all of the characters are so desperately unhappy with the lives that they lead. A woman goes to work while her husband stays home with the daughter. Tonie is deeply unsatisfied and is drifting, and Thomas is trying to find satisfaction in the piano of all things. In another couple, Claudia just wants to paint, but can't seem to make time for herself because she feels so oppressed by her non-oppressive husband.
My all time favorite passage was: "The truth is that for the past week Thomas as worked on the adagio like a solitary prisoner tunneling under the fortress walls. It has felt like cheating just as it did when he studied all night to pass an exam, or got through the tedium of meetings by knowing more than anyone else, or planned down the last detail his strategy of attracting the attention of a woman he liked." Incredible - I love this description because this is how I feel All. The. Time.
I'm not sure if I will read other Cusk novels, because this isn't at all the type of book that I usually enjoy. The description of emotion and feelings often means that there are few descriptions of actual action, but this book was beautiful and I very glad that I was a first reads recipient.
You can also check out my review at: http://abookofadifferentcolor.blogspot.com
Happy Reading!!