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ellieb_reads's Reviews (186)
This one was really hard for me to rate. I can’t say I truly enjoyed reading it? It was terribly sad for the entire 383 pages, and I kept reading, hoping the next chapter would be a reprieve from one of the tragic storylines. It was also difficult for me to read as someone who loves her sister; I simply couldn’t wrap my head around how someone could do to their sister what Sylvie and Julia do to each other. I felt so frustrated by their choices that it was a little hard to connect with them. But I thought the writing was terrific, and the book’s exploration of depression (how it feels, how people respond to it, how we manage it) was particularly beautiful. And the theme of the “one-two punch” of death and new life was really fascinating. How do we hold space for happiness and joy at the same time as sadness and grief? I think Napolitano weaves in this question throughout the book in a way that is compelling and heartbreaking.
Okay, I didn’t mean to read two back-to-back books about finding out when you’ll die (this and The Immortalists). But this book’s concept was a bit more unique and imaginative, and I found it much more engaging. Erlick’s writing, for moments of conflict and sadness especially, was quite beautiful. Fair warning, this book is kind of a downer, but I think it’s very realistic in that way, and I would’ve been disappointed with a perfectly wrapped up happy ending in this case. Perhaps my only complaint is that some characters’ conclusions were a little predictable, but that’s kind of unavoidable given the storyline. All in all, this was very thought-provoking, and I’m still not sure whether I’d look at my string or not.
I really enjoyed the concept - four siblings see a fortune teller as young children and are told the date of their deaths, and the books follows each of them as they approach their dates. Chloe Benjamin’s writing is excellent and often totally heartbreaking. But I did feel the novel was missing something, though I’m not sure exactly what. Perhaps a little more time with each of the characters? I felt like I had a much deeper understanding of the youngest and eldest siblings and their stories made sense with their characters. But the middle two felt like a more surface-level look at their identities, and then I felt almost blind-sided and confused by their decisions in the end. The pace and timelines were a little hard to keep up with as well, but overall I still really enjoyed this one.
Lindy West is not shrill. She is smart and brave and funny as hell. And I, a fellow (or maybe still aspiring?) Loud Woman, loved her book so much.
The top review for this book starts off with “I think we can all agree that the correct response to the end of this book is a violently whispered, ‘what the fuck’” - which I read 30 seconds after angrily slamming this shut and saying exactly that. My rating probably would’ve been a 3.5 were it not for the last few pages. Overall the writing is beautiful, and the Russian setting was new for me and really interesting. I thought the author did an amazing job placing the stories in context, weaving in the tension between indigenous peoples, Russians, and migrants in a post-USSR Russia. The book is told through vignettes of interconnected people, which I initially enjoyed. But then, when I realized nearly all of them would be left with ambiguous endings and unanswered questions, I really stopped liking the format and just wanted the book to be over. I had a hard time keeping track of characters’ connections to each other, and I wish there had been fewer of them and more time spent on each, or that the book had returned to some characters for a second time. I do think this is a great book and I wanted to love it, but it was just not for me I think.
I am torn on this rating, but I’m settling on 3.5. I enjoyed the book, but my primary feeling upon finishing it was “wow that was really long.” And relatively little happened, given its 435 pages. There are one or two subplots that I thought weren’t totally necessary, and I felt impatient to return to the main story whenever the narrative turned to them. Maybe if those were absent, this would be a solid 4 because I did enjoy the main storyline, most of the characters, and the book’s commentary on violence against women and the failure of the criminal justice system (and society) to address it. The book includes random mentions of anonymized crimes, with the narrator unable to remember which one she saw on the news. “It was the one where the director covered it up. Actually no, it was the one where the attacker was a promising athlete. Or was it the one where the police didn’t believe her story.” Paraphrasing there, but you get the idea. Basically highlighting (in a way I found compelling) how we are bombarded with stories of violence so often that we can refer to them like the titles of Friends episodes and society just moves on. Oof.
This was just fine for me. I found it fairly suspenseful and was actually surprised by the identity of the killer in the end. I liked the gradual reveal of smaller lies, and enjoyed the internal turmoil of the spouses believing their partners might be the culprit. But I felt like there was very little character development for any of the main characters beyond that they were very rich and some vague nods to a difficult childhood. There just wasn’t enough exploration of backstories or motives, and the ending left a few too many loose ends for me.
Meh. I enjoyed the premise, and I found some characters compelling even if unlikeable. I guess it was at least entertaining enough that I finished it in a day? But it just read a little YA for my taste, and I found most of the twists super predictable.
I think this is a really beautiful novel that, though I didn’t connect with it as much as I wanted, is a brilliant piece of work written for those that will. Taylor’s descriptive passages and storytelling were painful and vivid, and main character Wallace’s encounters with racism in the Midwest (and specifically at a fictionalized version of my alma mater) were hard to read - but a necessary reminder of what people of color and especially queer people of color experience and what white silence means in those moments. I struggled with the dialogue throughout the book, which was written very formally and awkwardly and I found myself thinking “nobody talks like this” more than once. But on the whole, this book is an impressive debut, and I’ll definitely check out Taylor’s future work.
I raced through this one as if I had to return it to the library today instead of two weeks from now. I haven’t read any of Lisa Jewell’s more recent books, but didn’t love the older one I read. None of This Is True has convinced me to read more from her. The character development was well done, and the book really keeps you guessing what’s true and what’s not. I liked the descriptions of the Netflix documentary, which I thought added some depth in a unique way. Knocked off half a star for the ending, which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t quite what I wanted. All in all, a great thriller to read in one sitting on a gloomy day.