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A review by tracy713
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
This is a quiet, internally focused novel. Casey is deeply grieving her mother's death and often in a near-panic state because of it, not helped by her precarious financial situation, some health concerns, and a stressful job as a waitress. The deceptively simple sentences convey Casey's emotional state (e.g., "I've forgotten what gets revealed right after you break up with someone") while still allowing descriptive prose to occasionally shine through (e.g., "Along [the river's] banks a frothy white scum pushes against the reeds").
The novel also provides some social commentary. Two parts that really stood out to me were about how men and women are socialized. During a first date with someone, Casey thinks "[I] think about how you get trained early on as a woman to perceive how others are perceiving you, at the great expense of what you yourself are feeling about them. Sometimes you mix the two up in a terrible tangle that's hard to unravel." Later in the novel, as Casey reflects on how the men she has known and, especially, dated, believed that they were "destined for greatness," she notes "At first . . . I believed it, too . . . Now I understand it's how boys are raised to think, how they are lured into adulthood. I've met ambitious women, driven women, but no woman has ever told me that greatness was her destiny." While I don't know how accurate the statements about men are, the comments on women certainly resonated.
I really enjoyed reading this. The book is populated by secondary characters that feel real, I was invested in Casey's storyline, and there were some passages that really resonated with me. I recommend it.
The novel also provides some social commentary. Two parts that really stood out to me were about how men and women are socialized. During a first date with someone, Casey thinks "[I] think about how you get trained early on as a woman to perceive how others are perceiving you, at the great expense of what you yourself are feeling about them. Sometimes you mix the two up in a terrible tangle that's hard to unravel." Later in the novel, as Casey reflects on how the men she has known and, especially, dated, believed that they were "destined for greatness," she notes "At first . . . I believed it, too . . . Now I understand it's how boys are raised to think, how they are lured into adulthood. I've met ambitious women, driven women, but no woman has ever told me that greatness was her destiny." While I don't know how accurate the statements about men are, the comments on women certainly resonated.
I really enjoyed reading this. The book is populated by secondary characters that feel real, I was invested in Casey's storyline, and there were some passages that really resonated with me. I recommend it.