I appreciate the Jewish & chronic illness representation, but sadly that's where it ends with me.
No chemistry, no spice, the stakes were pretty low and there were a lot of overreactions/miscommunications/this character couldn't really be so dense, could they? moments. I found Jacob's gifts in the second half to be patronizing, and the obsession with a brief childhood romance to be unrealistic. Probably would have DNF-ed if it wasn't a quick read and I was trying to get to my reading goal for the year.
There's a lot to digest in this book (in a good way) so I'll need to let it percolate some before I write a real review. Thoroughly moved.
The one thing I will say I think the authors note at the front of the book did too much stylistic prefacing. This was always a no-no in every creative writing workshop I've taken, no disclaimers. I'll be honest when Chen wrote that the reader may find the name changes and narrative timekeeping confusing I was a little nervous, but ultimately I found it to be a remarkable and coherent debut.
HUGE TRIGGER WARNINGS for (repeated) sexual abuse/assault and domestic violence, among other things
5⭐ for me. I really admire Jodi Picoult's impeccable research and willingness to tackle intense subjects head on, while still telling a good story. Even the stuff that irked me, like Melina for much of the story, had a really specific narrative purpose. Emilia's story was remarkably tragic the whole way through. This book is pretty long and maybe could have been edited down some, but it was always going to be a slow burn, so I'm not that mad about it.
Feminist English Lit majors and fans of Pip Williams -- especially The Dictionary of Lost Words -- would really enjoy this.
"This is how it happens. She just lets people around her do what they want. She doesn't call them on their shit. She pretends like she has no needs, like it's just fine to walk into her room when she was in the middle of trying to have an orgasm."
I wish I could give this more than five stars. Frequently laugh out loud funny (truly, I was cackling in parts) yet very poignant. Covers themes of friendship, forgiveness, happiness, and finding your own way. While it had it's sad moments (TW: suicidal ideation, pet death, infertility, death of parents) it was overall a really fun read and would be perfect for a book club.
I found maybe half of the essays strangely written/edited, tied up too neatly or providing no new perspectives on anger. Could just be that short form essay writing is not every contributor's strength. It had a strong start and sort of lost its way in the middle. In spite of that, I still found this plenty engaging and appreciated the subject matter.
Really amazing premise that I couldn't wait to read, but the execution was a bit of a drag.
From what I gathered, the main themes were sovereignty, freedom, and pride, but there were too many subplots to fully flesh that out in the way that I wanted. There were a few somewhat tender moments, like the last scene with Omar and Ada on the train platform, but it was still a bit unsatisfying. I was hoping for an emotional, heart wrenching ending but like the characters, I feel a bit conflicted. Even if things weren't going to be tied up in a neat little bow, I wanted to feel something more than I did.
I was a big OTH fan while it was running, but knew very little about Bethany Joy Lenz's personal life, much less that she was in a cult the whole time! What a story!
Beautiful and sad. I was personally not bothered by the lack of a twist/ah hah moment, that is not a prerequisite for good fiction in my opinion (maybe if the writing is bad, but Amanda Peters' is not). It perfectly embodied this passage:
“The dash saddens me…It doesn’t allow for all the downs that bring a person low or the joys that lift them up. All the bends and turns that make up a lifetime are flattened and erased. The dash on a tombstone is wholly inadequate. Everything around it is more remarkable. The name…sometimes a photo…giving life to the dead. Yet the dash, that line that carries the entire sum of a life within it, is unremarkable.”
Even though the ending was clear from the start, reading Joe and Norma's dashes felt so meaningful and special.
Five stars for being one of the more memorable books I've read in a while, and probably for a while more. So creative and sexy and exciting, romantasy at its finest. It was a bit of a slow burn (the lore is deep) but so worth it