A review by bookmaddie
Strike Your Heart by Amélie Nothomb

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was a really quick and incisive read. I'm a sucker for stories about women and their relationships, so Nothomb's chronicle of one woman's connections with other women in her life was right up my alley. We follow Diane from childhood to young adulthood and witness the seminal female relationships in her life—with her mother, a professor, and one of her closest childhood friends. Nothomb writes with honesty and detail—Diane felt exceptionally real throughout. While Nothomb pushes some extremes (a woman being so jealous of her child as to completely shun her, someone working almost non-stop and barely sleeping for months on end), it is all in service of exploring the depths of emotion, and how deep-seated misogyny can affect women and weave its way into our relationships. A really clever, well-done, and sympathetic read.
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