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A review by linesiunderline
The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Donna Freitas
challenging
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
4.0
As a childfree woman, I expected to connect deeply with this one. I appreciated a reading a book where the challenges of navigating society as a woman without children took centre stage. I feel like the world needs more stories about this experience, more variety, more openness, more representation.
Freitas delves into this subject and conveys aspects of the experience with nuance and clarity. She has a direct writing style, which gives the reader a strong sense of connection to Rose.
At times it was tricky to keep the different narratives / “lives” straight, but I didn’t get too hung up on it, and so it didn’t irk me, but some readers might find that irritating. In the end, I don’t think it particularly mattered if some of the details of the different lives blended into each other.
Spoilers ahead…
I was disappointed that none of the lives presented an option where Rose ended up living contentedly without children. I appreciated that Freitas showed the complexities in each one of Rose’s lives, no matter the resolution, but to me, it felt like something was lost, that some of the potential for even greater thematic richness was lost, because we didn’t get to see Rose in a life without children. This surprised me and was a let down.
I’d be curious to learn more about the author’s process in writing this book and I think it adds important ideas to a topic of conversation that does not take center stage often enough.
Freitas delves into this subject and conveys aspects of the experience with nuance and clarity. She has a direct writing style, which gives the reader a strong sense of connection to Rose.
At times it was tricky to keep the different narratives / “lives” straight, but I didn’t get too hung up on it, and so it didn’t irk me, but some readers might find that irritating. In the end, I don’t think it particularly mattered if some of the details of the different lives blended into each other.
Spoilers ahead…
I was disappointed that none of the lives presented an option where Rose ended up living contentedly without children. I appreciated that Freitas showed the complexities in each one of Rose’s lives, no matter the resolution, but to me, it felt like something was lost, that some of the potential for even greater thematic richness was lost, because we didn’t get to see Rose in a life without children. This surprised me and was a let down.
I’d be curious to learn more about the author’s process in writing this book and I think it adds important ideas to a topic of conversation that does not take center stage often enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Miscarriage, and Sexual content