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readingwithkt 's review for:
Needlemouse
by Jane O'Connor
Sylvia is on the other side of fifty and experiencing the ever-painful sensation of unrequited love. She works in a University as personal assistant to a Professor – whom she has been in love with for 10 years. However, he is married with children (and it soon becomes apparent that he is a bit of an adulterer). In her spare time, Sylvia volunteers in a hedgehog sanctuary because well… it gives her something to talk about on Monday morning, and it leads people to believe she’s a nice person. But Sylvia’s quiet world is shaken upside down by the arrival of a new PhD student, who threatens to stand between Sylvia and Prof.
What did I think of this book?
Well, you know I’m always honest with you and I’m going to try to be as honest as possible here. I requested this book from the publisher as I heard somebody describe it as similar to ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ (which I LOVED). However… my gut tells me that I wasn’t really feeling this book. I disliked Sylvia, I disliked her attitude to others, her self-absorbed personality, her desire to live small. I didn’t connect with her, with her actions, her thoughts. Her small life did, in some ways, tie in quite nicely with the hedgehog theme. But my main critique of this book is that I just found the central character too unlikeable. If she was 19, I could maybe understand her actions a bit more, and place the book in the coming-of-age category, but at 50+!! You’ve got to be kidding me. Common sense alone would make this central character a totally different human being. I know you’re not supposed to like every character in a book. I get that. But I do enjoy relatable central characters.
After Prof’s new PhD student starts and Sylvia unravels, I can relate to the way in which her life hits rock bottom. She is in a really bad place in this time and I can relate to that in many ways. That is probably, for me, the only part of the book that I really connected with. At that point I did really think that the book might have some promise yet. But for me the ending was too fairytale. The last chapter especially was a bit barf-worthy. I wasn’t feeling it at all.
I hate to slate books online and negativity is just not my vibe, but I do always aim to be honest and fair. And so… There were, of course, many things that I liked about the book (mostly in the second half of the book so I’ll keep it nice and vague so I don’t spoil it for you).
Mostly, I loved Jonas; the owner of the hedgehog sanctuary. A quiet, unassuming, and possibly lonely man. His door was always open to Sylvia, whether she chose to appreciate that or not (!!). The thing I liked most about his character is that he was a man of few words, but those he did say he made count. I like that about a person, and I particularly liked that about Jonas.
I also enjoyed the coming-of-age journey that we seen Sylvia’s niece come on throughout the book, and I felt this added a softer dimension to the transformational journey that Sylvia went under.
I liked Jane O’Connor’s use of language and she has obviously done a lot of research in to hedgehogs (or needlemice). This book will certainly make you reflect on the way you live your life and the way you treat others around you. I also enjoyed reading it in January as I enjoyed the references to hibernation and I’ve been doing quite a lot of hibernating myself lately.
What did I think of this book?
Well, you know I’m always honest with you and I’m going to try to be as honest as possible here. I requested this book from the publisher as I heard somebody describe it as similar to ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ (which I LOVED). However… my gut tells me that I wasn’t really feeling this book. I disliked Sylvia, I disliked her attitude to others, her self-absorbed personality, her desire to live small. I didn’t connect with her, with her actions, her thoughts. Her small life did, in some ways, tie in quite nicely with the hedgehog theme. But my main critique of this book is that I just found the central character too unlikeable. If she was 19, I could maybe understand her actions a bit more, and place the book in the coming-of-age category, but at 50+!! You’ve got to be kidding me. Common sense alone would make this central character a totally different human being. I know you’re not supposed to like every character in a book. I get that. But I do enjoy relatable central characters.
After Prof’s new PhD student starts and Sylvia unravels, I can relate to the way in which her life hits rock bottom. She is in a really bad place in this time and I can relate to that in many ways. That is probably, for me, the only part of the book that I really connected with. At that point I did really think that the book might have some promise yet. But for me the ending was too fairytale. The last chapter especially was a bit barf-worthy. I wasn’t feeling it at all.
I hate to slate books online and negativity is just not my vibe, but I do always aim to be honest and fair. And so… There were, of course, many things that I liked about the book (mostly in the second half of the book so I’ll keep it nice and vague so I don’t spoil it for you).
Mostly, I loved Jonas; the owner of the hedgehog sanctuary. A quiet, unassuming, and possibly lonely man. His door was always open to Sylvia, whether she chose to appreciate that or not (!!). The thing I liked most about his character is that he was a man of few words, but those he did say he made count. I like that about a person, and I particularly liked that about Jonas.
I also enjoyed the coming-of-age journey that we seen Sylvia’s niece come on throughout the book, and I felt this added a softer dimension to the transformational journey that Sylvia went under.
I liked Jane O’Connor’s use of language and she has obviously done a lot of research in to hedgehogs (or needlemice). This book will certainly make you reflect on the way you live your life and the way you treat others around you. I also enjoyed reading it in January as I enjoyed the references to hibernation and I’ve been doing quite a lot of hibernating myself lately.