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elementarymydear
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9 reviews
DNF @ 20% (NetGalley ARC)
I very rarely write a review for a book I didn't finish, but here are the main two reasons I stopped reading this book:
1. The writing style and the story did not match up in the slightest. It's written in a whimsical, light-hearted way, with no variation for very dark and traumatic things that the characters go through.
2. The 'white feminist fantasy'. Every 21st century white feminist (myself included) wants to believe that, if they were born decades earlier, they would still hold the exact same values, and that belief is the entire basis for this book. Already, during a flashback to the 1950s, the main character has treated us to Second Wave Feminism 101, stating as obvious fact what two decades later would be radical ideas. She claims to speak on behalf of all women, but internally says that most women don't feel the same way she does and she looks down on them for it (because, of course, she is Not Like Other Girls, and neither is her daughter).
It's so frustrating because had this book been better executed, it could have been an incredibly powerful and nuanced tale. Perhaps it improves; I doubt point 1 will, and I'm not optimistic enough about point 2 to keep reading.
I very rarely write a review for a book I didn't finish, but here are the main two reasons I stopped reading this book:
1. The writing style and the story did not match up in the slightest. It's written in a whimsical, light-hearted way, with no variation for very dark and traumatic things that the characters go through.
2. The 'white feminist fantasy'. Every 21st century white feminist (myself included) wants to believe that, if they were born decades earlier, they would still hold the exact same values, and that belief is the entire basis for this book. Already, during a flashback to the 1950s, the main character has treated us to Second Wave Feminism 101, stating as obvious fact what two decades later would be radical ideas. She claims to speak on behalf of all women, but internally says that most women don't feel the same way she does and she looks down on them for it (because, of course, she is Not Like Other Girls, and neither is her daughter).
It's so frustrating because had this book been better executed, it could have been an incredibly powerful and nuanced tale. Perhaps it improves; I doubt point 1 will, and I'm not optimistic enough about point 2 to keep reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Suicide
- The main character was so unlikeable
- Nothing happened
- There was no plot or character development
- No speech marks!! (Pet peeve of mine)
I was very aware while reading this that this was A Good Piece Of Literature. It was award-winning, about an important period of history, and well-known. But not only was it dull, it was also actually difficult to read. It was very hard to keep track of who was talking, because Mantel seems unable to use Thomas Cromwell's name at all, and speech marks appeared to be randomly missing, to the point that sometimes a sentence would contain two pieces of speech; one with speech marks, one without. And then there's be an internal thought that was impossible to distinguish. It also just feels lazy to start a paragraph with a time of year and then a colon, and it interrupts the narrative.
I gave up (about halfway through) when I realised that a) I dreaded the thought of having to go back and read some more and b) I knew nothing about the main character. I knew the facts, like his name, his family, but nothing about his personality, who he was as a person.
I know that lots of people really like this book, and I can sort of see why, but it just really isn't for me. I couldn't get into it, I found it a struggle, and for that reason I gave up.
I gave up (about halfway through) when I realised that a) I dreaded the thought of having to go back and read some more and b) I knew nothing about the main character. I knew the facts, like his name, his family, but nothing about his personality, who he was as a person.
I know that lots of people really like this book, and I can sort of see why, but it just really isn't for me. I couldn't get into it, I found it a struggle, and for that reason I gave up.
I'm sorry, I just couldn't force myself to read any further. I had no idea what was going on, the characterisation was all over the shop, and there was no Janto to take the edge off. I'm now off to AO3. Sorry.
Great premise and, as always, great world-building. I just found it dull. Unwind (and especially Undivided) had me at the edge of my seat, but I just can't stick with this. Sorry Neal Shusterman :( maybe next time.
I'm so sorry, Markus Zusak. I loved I Am The Messenger. I loved loved loved loved loved The Book Thief. This just really wasn't my cup of tea.
I must admit, I didn't actually make it to the end. The stories were good, the characters were good, but personally I just really struggle with Kipling's writing style. I'd read some of his short stories before and struggled, but thought that maybe this would be easier. The words went into my head but I just couldn't make any sense of them, and it was a real struggle to work out what was going on. I feel bad giving it a low rating because it is a good book, but I just wasn't enjoying it and it felt like a really laborious read.
This is the only one star rating I've ever given on this site. That should tell you a lot.
Going into this book, I expected (and wanted) a moving story about two people falling in love, about the emotional struggle of living with disabilities and then a marriage collapsing. It's the kind of real life story that should fill me with empathy all the way through, and should actually make me feel something, but it was like reading someone's shopping list. In fact, a shopping list would have perhaps been more entertaining. I stuck with it for a bit, hoping that, maybe, she might actually talk about her feelings (writing about your feelings? In your autobiography? Even the notion!) but when she started talking on about page 100 about how they decided to buy a dishwasher, I gave up. I still don't know why they got married; it went something along the lines of, "We knew each other from childhood. I fell in love, even though he was pretty awful most of the time. We got married. We bought a dishwasher.", except with added detail about the colour of the wallpaper. I've read children's short stories which have held more emotion than this.
So, yeah. A let-down.
Going into this book, I expected (and wanted) a moving story about two people falling in love, about the emotional struggle of living with disabilities and then a marriage collapsing. It's the kind of real life story that should fill me with empathy all the way through, and should actually make me feel something, but it was like reading someone's shopping list. In fact, a shopping list would have perhaps been more entertaining. I stuck with it for a bit, hoping that, maybe, she might actually talk about her feelings (writing about your feelings? In your autobiography? Even the notion!) but when she started talking on about page 100 about how they decided to buy a dishwasher, I gave up. I still don't know why they got married; it went something along the lines of, "We knew each other from childhood. I fell in love, even though he was pretty awful most of the time. We got married. We bought a dishwasher.", except with added detail about the colour of the wallpaper. I've read children's short stories which have held more emotion than this.
So, yeah. A let-down.