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rudyb's Reviews (242)
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
this is the best and most devastating book i have read this year
picked this up on a whim and loved it, i’ve already bought another of alison smith’s collections and can’t wait to get to it
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
mmmm this one really captured the painful self-awareness that comes w mental illness for me, quick but meaningful read
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
the first probably like 75% of this book felt like it was shaping up to be one of my favourite books of the year. the magical realism and the almost claustrophobic feeling of being inside the mother’s head i thought were so fascinating and just my kind of weird. unfortunately the ending was kind of a let down. the descriptions of the art show and the reviews and the pr campaign felt too removed from the rest of the book and a little too on the nose for me, satirical intentions or not. it just brought down what was otherwise a very compelling book. overall i would still recommend it, even if the conclusion didn’t land for me. also u know amy adams is up to her ears in the character study rn so can’t wait for that.
very few writers make me feel the way ivan coyote does. i can’t think of anyone else whose words i connect to more and this collection is no different, i was almost sad when i realized i was finished with it.
medium-paced
picked this up on a whim and really liked it, will probably pick up some more of mcgahern’s works later.
reflective
sad
young adulthood is all abt the fear of becoming ur parents huh
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
i love this story so much in any format but this one made me want to cry it captured the tone of lm montgomery’s book so perfectly
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
i feel like this book is one that will take a while to unravel in my head, post-reading. toews does a great job at communicating the urgency of the situation, which is compelling, but also means that we don't get an in-depth understanding of any of the women's inner worlds. this is compounded by the fact that the book is narrated by the male scribe attending the meetings. i thought this was an interesting choice since it constantly reminds the reader of the power imbalance the women are facing as they are unable to read or write, but, again, it means we don't get the inner monologue of the female characters.